This touring package is based on and inspired by the acclaimed album Big Band of Brothers: A Jazz Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band. Released by New West Records in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Allman Brothers Band’s debut, the album features a 10-song set of jazz interpretations of ABB favorites. Project creator and co-producer John Harvey described how it all came about: "For the Big Band of Brothers album we began with timeless Allman Brothers Band classics, commissioned brilliant big band arrangements for them, and brought them to life through passionate performances - all sweetened by contributions from distinguished guest artists." The album garnered massive praise from both jazz and ABB fans, and from critics in publications such as Downbeat: "Albums offering jazz renditions of rock songs are commonplace nowadays, so the element of surprise has faded. But A Jazz Celebration Of The Allman Brothers Band is an accomplishment of a higher order." The Big Band of Brothers tour, which will feature special guests Jaimoe (one of two surviving original ABB members) and Lamar Williams Jr. backed by Sammy Miller & the Congregation, plan to travel to some of the world's best live music venues with a one-of-a-kind big band show in tow. The Allman Brothers Band Museum in Macon, GA (known asThe Big House) will be along for the ride setting up a mobile exhibit at each tour stop showcasing some of the largest collection of ABB memorabilia in the world.

MORE ABOUT THE BAND AND GUESTS

Born in Mississippi in 1944, Jaimoe came up, as did so many Southern musicians at the time, playing the soul music circuit. One of his first big breaks—and one of his most treasured recollections— was touring behind the legendary R&B trailblazer Otis Redding. “I learned so much from Otis,” Jaimoe says now. In 1969, a few years after his experiences with Redding, Jaimoe found himself in Macon, Georgia, where he was introduced to a young hotshot guitarist named Duane Allman by record execs Phil Walden and Jerry Wexler. “I guess they figured that a long-haired hippie and a strange-ass drummer would be good together,” Jaimoe says. Along with Duane’s younger brother Gregg on keyboards, second guitarist Dickey Betts, and an exceptional rhythm section that included bassist Berry Oakley and Jaimoe’s 40-plus-year drum partner Butch Trucks, the Allman Brothers Band was soon on its way to immortality. The Allmans’ place in rock history is set in stone, earning the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in 2012.

Lamar Williams Jr, born in Macon, GA to Lamar Williams (bassist of The Allman Brothers Band), has collaborated with The Allman Brothers Band, Oteil and Friends, and is currently the lead singer of The New Mastersounds.