Medeski Martin & Wood
Photo: Danny Clinch

An all-star jam featuring former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Jimi Hendrix drummer Buddy Miles will cap the second night of the June 29-July 1 Gathering of the Vibes festival in Red Neck, New York, with a tribute to Jim Morrison, Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

The "Terrapin Thirty Year Jam" will honor the three legendary musicians, who all died within a 10-month period 30 years ago.

House band Blue Floyd will lead the jam, which will also include Bernie Worrell, Woo Warriors leader and a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, according to a spokesperson from festival producer Terrapin Presents.

Blue Floyd consist of Gov't Mule percussionist Matt Abts, former Allman Brothers Band keyboardist Johnny Neel, former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford and Berry Oakley Jr., son of original Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley and a longtime member of the Robby Krieger Band.

DJ Logic, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth (of the Tom Tom Club and, formerly, Talking Heads) and Deep Banana Blackout's Fuzz will also take part in the tribute.

Manzarek, who will MC the "Thirty Year Jam," was the Doors' keyboardist, while Miles played in Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, the Electric Flag and with Carlos Santana.

The sixth annual Gathering of the Vibes will be held on a 500-acre farm.

Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Medeski Martin & Wood, the Disco Biscuits, the Dickey Betts Band and the Tom Tom Club have been added to the lineup for this annual tribute to the memory of late Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia.

Previously announced acts include Bruce Hornsby, Les Claypool and his Flying Frog Brigade, guitarist John Scofield, Soulive, Nigerian drummer Baba Olatunji, Merl Saunders and his Funky Friends and Strangefolk. The previously announced Wailers canceled due to a scheduling conflict.

More information is available online at www.gatheringofthevibes.com.

• Tom Tom Club
• Femi Kuti
• Ray Manzarek
• The Disco Biscuits
• Dickey Betts

Femi Kuti

Second generation Afrobeat star Femi Kuti has tapped producer/keyboardist Money Mark to collaborate on material for his next studio album, due out in the early fall.

Mark, who performed on several Beastie Boys albums — including Check Your Head and Ill Communication — recently flew to Paris to join singer/saxophonist Kuti for preproduction work on the new record.

The Paris sessions are only expected to last about a week, although Kuti and Sodi, who produced and engineered Kuti's most recent album, 1999's Shoki Shoki, plan to travel to New York in April to finish recording the album with Mark, according to a spokesperson for Kuti.

Mark met Kuti, the son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, last year when the keyboardist sat in on sessions for the Red Hot + Riot benefit album, which features contemporary artists covering Fela (see "Macy Gray, D'Angelo, More Tribute Fela Kuti").

"We got along pretty well," Mark said. "He showed me a tape of his new stuff, and I was just floored by it. So he invited me to go to Paris, where he'll start recording a new album. I'm pretty excited." Mark, who has released a pair of acclaimed solo albums, 1996's Mark's Keyboard Repair and 1998's Push the Button, said he was also looking forward to performing alongside Kuti and the Africa 2001 brass and percussion ensemble.

"I think I'll play for sure," he said. "It's kind of open. There are some songs that he has that need keyboards. He likes my feel and taste, which I'm still confused about, to be honest, why people choose me. He wants me to play on it, and I'm honored to do it." Kuti's publicist said several other guest artists, ranging from the Roots' ?uestlove to Common, may also turn out for the New York sessions, but the list won't be finalized until shortly before studio work begins.

The Red Hot + Riot album, which will benefit the Red Hot AIDS Charity Trust's initiatives in Africa, features contributions from Mark, Kuti, Macy Gray, D'Angelo, Dead Prez, Zap Mama and Bilal, among others, and is now expected to be released in late summer.

As for Kuti, MCA plans to release a single-disc version of the Shoki Remixed import this spring, which includes remixes of Shoki Shoki tracks from the likes of Francois K, I:Cube and DJ Gilb'r.

Kuti will also be taking to the road in April to support the release of Shoki Remixed, starting on April 26 in Austin, Texas.

Dates for Femi Kuti's spring tour, as provided by his publicist:

• 4/26 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's
• 4/27 - Austin, TX @ Stubb's
• 4/28 - Houston, TX @ Houston International Festival
• 5/2 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues - JazzFest
• 5/3 - New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theater
• 6/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ Playboy Jazz Festival

• Money Mark
• Femi Kuti

Medeski, Martin, & Wood, moe., Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, String Cheese Incident, and more of the jam world's finest will come out next month for the third annual Berkshire Mountain Music Festival in Massachusetts.

Those acts will join Femi Kuti, Spearhead, Deep Banana Blackout, Galactic, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, and others for three days of music and camping.

The music will be spread out across five stages, and organizers are also promising banjo and DJ workshops, an arts and crafts fair, children's activities, and movies, as well as food and micro-brewed beer.

Advance tickets for the entire weekend are $85 (jumping to $95 on August 4), and walk-up tickets for the three-day event will jump to $100. Potential concertgoers can find more information at www.berkfest.com.

• Bela Fleck
• Femi Kuti
• Spearhead

Paula Cole, Me'Shell N'degeocello, Femi Kuti, Los Lobos, and Sonia Dada will be among the global music artists who will descend on Seattle this summer for the third edition of the WOMAD USA festival.

• Paula Cole
• Femi Kuti
• Los Lobos