JASON YATES HITS THE ROAD
AS PART OF CITIZEN COPE’S BAND;
TOUR LAUNCHES FEBRUARY 2, 2010

YATES’ SELF-TITLED SOLO CD
OUT NOW ON VAPOR RECORDS;
L.A. CD PARTY SET FOR JANUARY 9

JASON YATES is lending his keyboard skills to Citizen Cope for a two–month tour starting in February – while promoting his own self-titled solo disc along the way. It marks familiar territory for JASON, who previously appeared on Citizen Cope’s 2004 disc The Clarence Greenwood Recordings. The tour commences February 2 at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC, and continues late into April.

Meanwhile, JASON celebrates his self-titled solo CD (out now on Vapor Records) with a special free performance at his artist’s loft near L.A.’s Chinatown on January 9. The evening is set to feature all of the CD’s musicians — including longtime Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, Acetone guitarist Mark Lightcap, and drummers Oliver Charles (JASON’s former bandmate in Ben Harper’s Innocent Criminals) and storied session-man Gary Mallaber (Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt) — along with a handful of surprise guests. The set will culminate with a jam session befitting both the low-key venue and JASON’s philosophy behind the CD:

“There was always a certain way I wanted to play, no matter what band I was in,” JASON explains. “It had to be natural, and have a strong groove to it. When I was writing the songs on the new album, that idea was at the front of my mind the whole time.”

That groove traverses blues and rock, gospel and soul; it flirts with jazz and country. There’s a sense of space here, whether that space resonates with impressionistic guitar licks and JASON’s B3 on songs like “Nobody So Far” and “Paper Tents,” or it’s filled only with the melancholy of the bare and beautiful closing track “Sing For You.”

“Yates is note-perfect in his use of timeless keyboard instruments. Acoustic piano, tack piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, Hammond; he plays them all and exhibits a keen understanding of the nuances of each instrument,” applauds Bill Kopp on his Musoscribe Blog. “He resists the temptation to overplay…’To Reason’ puts a Wurlitzer electric piano out front of a shuffling tune; Yates’ nimble playing on the vintage keyboard makes the tune an album highlight; the understated solo is a delight. In fact, ‘To Reason’ displays a neat trick that Yates manages throughout the album: he’s able to layer multiple keyboard instruments (in this instance, Wurlitzer, acoustic piano and organ) while somehow avoiding the feeling of a keyboard-dominated record.”

“[Jason’s] influences and expert keyboard playing on the songs make this album one that you will have on a continuous loop on your mp3,” agrees Donna-Lyn Washington in ReviewFlix.com. “Yates has a solid album that cannot be pinned down by genre, and that’s a good thing. There’s something for everyone here.”

For more on JASON YATES, go to www.vaporrecords.com and www.myspace.com/jasonyatesofficial.

Details of JASON’s free L.A. show are as follows:

Confirmed 2010 Citizen Cope tour dates featuring JASON YATES on keyboards are below. Check http://citizencope.com/tour for more dates as they’re added.