Jethro Tull will release its 22nd album, titled The Zealot Gene, in early-2022. The band posted about the new set while announcing they’ve signed a new contract with InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.
Leader Ian Anderson said of the new recording deal, “After 54 years in the world of music recording, it is with great pleasure that I now sign Jethro Tull to a record company which reminds me, in many ways, of the old Chrysalis label — both as an independent and in its later years in partnership with EMI. Here are real music guys with a passion for the best and most creative in rock music. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship and more releases to come.”
SOURCE: Press release
DID YOU KNOW???
The current lineup of Jethro Tull is:
- Ian Anderson – Flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Joe Parrish-James – Guitar
- Florian Opahle – Guitar (new album sessions only)
- Scott Hammond – Drums.
- John O’Hara – Piano, keyboards and accordion
- David Goodier – Bass guitar
FAST FACTS
- In 2016 Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson & The Carducci Quartet released The String Quartets, featuring classical reinterpretations of Tull material. Highlights included “Living In The Past,” “Locomotive Breath,” and “Bungle In The Jungle,” among others.
- The String Quartets was recorded in Britain in the crypt of Worcester Cathedral, and St Kenelm’s Church, Sapperton, Gloucestershire.
SIDE NOTES
- Back in May 2020, Ian Anderson took time out to assuage fans that may have misconstrued his recent comments that he was on death’s door.In an interview with Dan Rather on his AXS TV series The Big Interview, Anderson revealed he was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs.
- Anderson alarmed fans by saying: “If I’m kept in a reasonably pollution-free environment in terms of air quality, I do OK. But my days are numbered. It’s not yet at the point that it affects my day-to-day life — I can still run for the bus.”
- The Jethro Tull frontman went on to issue a statement regarding his current health, explaining, “I really meant. . . that my days as a singer were numbered rather than days to live! After all, I am 73 years old this August! But I should be OK for a few more years if COVID doesn’t get me first.”
CHECK IT OUT: Jethro Tull in 1980 performing “Aqualung” live in Los Angeles: