James Hunter Six back in 'Nick of Time'

James Hunter's seventh album Nick of Time is set for release on Brooklyn's Daptone Records on March 6. It was recorded and produced by label co-founder Bosco Mann (Sharon Jones + the Dap Kings) at the label's Penrose Studios in Riverside, California. The lead track is "I Can Change Your Mind."

On "Till I Hear From You," Hunter delves into Dave Brubeck territory with his first go at recording a song in 3/4. Featuring his recording debut on chromatic harmonica, Hunter professes about the track, "I think I had three tunes in my head when I wrote this number, including Ray Charles' theme from The Cincinnati Kid, Lou Johnson's 'It Ain't No Use,' and Bacharach's instrumental bit from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

"Missing In Action" sees a rare wartime theme in Hunter's song catalogue. Though only spending a couple months in the Sea Cadet Corps at the age of 14, Hunter recalls, "I never saw action let alone went missing in it, but walking home dressed like Popeye the Sailor past pubs bristling with squaddies ensured I was always surrounded by the enemy. I was quite pleased with The Longest Day timpani and the machine-gun phrasing of the saxophones."

Nick of Time finds Hunter backed by New York City musicians like Victor Axelrod (piano), Adam Scone (organ), Rudy Petschauer (drums), Myles Weeks (bass), Michael Buckley (baritone saxophone), and Freddy DeBoe (tenor saxophone).

On the road for an extensive U.S., U.K., and European tour in support of Nick of Time, Matt Slocum (keyboards) takes the reins on keys. See tour dates below.

Track Listing:

1. I Can Change Your Mind
2. Who's Fooling Who
3. Till I Hear It From You
4. Never
5. Missing In Action
6. Nick Of Time
7. Brother Or Other
8. Ain't Goin' Up In One Of Those Things
9. Take It As You Find It
10. Can't Help Myself
11. How 'Bout Now
12. Paradise For One
13. He's Your Could've Been

TOUR DATES:

Thursday, March 26 - City Winery - Boston, MA
Friday, March 27 - Narrows Center for the Arts - Fall River, MA
Saturday, March 28 - Daryl's House - Pawling, NY
Sunday, March 29 - StageOne at FTC - Fairfield, CT
Wednesday, April 1 - City Winery - New York, NY
Thursday, April 2 - Sellersville Theater - Sellersville, PA
Friday, April 3 - City Winery - Washington DC
Saturday, April 4 - The Paramount Theater - Burlington, NC
Monday, April 6 - Neighborhood Theater - Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, April 8 - Franklin Theatre - Franklin, TN
Thursday, April 9 - City Winery - Chicago, IL
Friday, April 10 - The Dakota - Minnesota, MN
Saturday, April 11 - The Dakota - Minneapolis, MN
Monday, April 13 - Antone's - Austin, TX
Thursday, April 16 - Echo - Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, April 18 - Cornerstone - Berkeley, CA
Sunday, April 19 - Harlow's - Sacramento, CA
Friday, May 1 - Moulin Blues - Ospel, The Netherlands
Sunday, May 3 - Paradiso Noord - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Tuesday, May 5 - Luxor - Koln, Germany
Wednesday, May 6 - Mojo Club - Hamburg, Germany
Thursday May 7 - Columbia Theater - Berlin, Germany
Saturday May 9 - Technikum - Munich, Germany
Monday May 11 - Zoom - Frankfurt, Germany
Wednesday May 13 - Le Café de la Danse - Paris, France
Thursday May 14 - Fuzzyon - La Roche-sur - Yon, France
Saturday May 16 - Jazz a Liege-Brasserie Sauvenière - Liege, Belgium
Tuesday May 19 - Jazz Café - London, United Kingdom