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Boz Scaggs delivers standards during summer tour
GRAMMY Award-winning musician Boz Scaggs backs his recently released album "But Beautiful - Standards: Volume 1" with a jaunt through the West.
Scaggs has unveiled a handful of dates that begin in Las Vegas on Aug. 1. So far, all of the stops are set in Nevada, Arizona and California.
Released on May 6, "But Beautiful" is Scaggs' follow-up to 2001's "Dig." The new set finds him performing a collection of jazz standards, backed by pianist/arranger Paul Nagel, saxophonist Eric Crystal, bassist John Shifflett and drummer Jason Lewis.
Scaggs traces his impetus for recording the album back to an acoustic fund-raising concert that he gave three years ago, for which he recruited Nagel, Crystal, Shifflett and Lewis.
"I thought it might be interesting to rework some of my songs with a more progressive treatment," he said in a statement. "Things opened up so nicely in rehearsal, I suggested we do a standard. We did the show, we liked it, the audience liked it, and that's where it all began."
"But Beautiful" is Scaggs' first release on his new label, Gray Cat Records. Streaming samples of five of the album's tracks are posted at Scaggs' website.
Scaggs, whose recording career dates back almost 30 years, got his start in the mid '60s as a member of the Steve Miller Band . He released his self-titled solo debut in 1968.
In 1976, Scaggs--along with co-writer David Paich--won a Best R&B Song GRAMMY® for his song "Lowdown."
