KOCH Records is proud to announce the release of The Acatama Experience, the new album by legendary electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty & His Band, on May 22, 2007.

Jean-Luc Ponty is a pioneer and unquestioned jazz immortal. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied a visionary spin that has expanded the vocabulary of modern music in numerous directions, combining jazz, electronics, classical and world music into an eternally progressive blend.

Jean-Luc’s career spans five decades, and he has appeared on over 70 recordings, including works by Frank Zappa, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and countless others. In the 1970’s Ponty spearheaded—along with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and others—America’s growing jazz-rock movement, filling stadiums around the world and cracking the Top 40 with his albums Enigmatic Ocean and Cosmic Messenger. Since then, he has maintained a worldwide touring profile and a large, loyal fan base.

The Acatama Experience is Ponty’s first studio album in several years; it’s a joyful, romantic and colorful instrumental journey that moves from Paris ( a funk-fueled reading of Bud Powell’s classic “Parisian Thoroughfare”), to the mountain deserts of South America (the atmospheric, electronic title piece), with stops in Ireland (”Celtic Steps”) and the mysterious streets of Bombay, India. Musically, the album flows between electronic funk, virtuoso jazz rock, Latin & African percussion, impressionistic soundscapes and lyrical balladry. Tying it all together is Jean-Luc’s stunning virtuosity, particularly compelling on the solo turn, “Desert Crossing.”

The Acatama Experience is performed by Ponty’s touring group, with two very special guests on guitar: jazz master Philip Catherine and fusion immortal Allan Holdsworth. It’s an album that redefines and repositions Jean-Luc Ponty at the very center of the contemporary jazz and progressive music experience.

June 1: Detroit, MI, Music Hall
June 2: Columbus, OH, Southern Theatre
June 3: Cleveland Heights, OH, Nighttown
June 7: Fairfield, CT, Fairfield Theater
June 8: Sellersville, PA, Sellersville Theater
June 9: Annapolis, MD, Ram’s Head
June 12: Rochester, NY, Eastman Theater
June 15: West Palm Beach, FL, The Theatre
June 17: Charlotte, NC, Jazz Cafe
June 19: Washington, D.C., XM Radio Show
June 20: Alexandria, VA (Wash DC area), Birchmere
June 21: Wilmington, DE: Rodney Square (Clifford Brown Jazz Festival)
June 23: Saratoga, NY: JVC Jazz Festival
June 24: Toronto, ON, Canada: Jazz Festival Marquee
June 27: New York, NY: Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall, JVC Jazz Festival
June 29: Richmond, VA: Kanahawa Plaza (Fridays at Sunset International Festival)
July 1: Pittsburgh, PA: Hartwood Park