Sammy Hagar Wide Open Spaces

For this live concert recorded at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth, a mostly all-star group of Texas jazzmen (plus pianist Ellis Marsalis from New Orleans) was gathered together. The music, which includes four blues and three standards among its nine selections, lacks any real surprises. Most of the numbers have solos by Fathead Newman on alto, James Clay's tenor, veteran baritonist Leroy Cooper, the lesser-known trumpeter Dennis Dotson and guitarist Cornell Dupree or Marsalis. In addition, the pianist gets a pair of solo features, and Newman is also heard on tenor and flute. Strangely enough, Fathead never gets around to dueling with Clay. Some better planning and the utilization of a few charts (rather than the funcitonal frameworks) would have elevated the pleasing date to a much higher level.

Released on the struggling Beyond record label in 2000, Ten 13 wasn't exactly a well-publicized release. An impressive list of artists joined Sammy Hagar around the turn of the century at Beyond only to release hefty musical but commercially non-viable recordings…

Released on the struggling Beyond record label in 2000, Ten 13 wasn't exactly a well-publicized release. An impressive list of artists joined Sammy Hagar around the turn of the century at Beyond only to release hefty musical but commercially non-viable recordings. Hagar fared better than most due to his solid fan base – with which he managed to maintain a very close connection through touring, entertaining at his very popular bar and restaurant Cabo Wabo in Mexico, and by continuing to produce music generally true to his extremely popular '80s solo and Van Hagar material.

Released on the struggling Beyond record label in 2000, Ten 13 wasn't exactly a well-publicized release. An impressive list of artists joined Sammy Hagar around the turn of the century at Beyond only to release hefty musical but commercially non-viable recordings. Hagar fared better than most due to his solid fan base – with which he managed to maintain a very close connection through touring, entertaining at his very popular bar and restaurant Cabo Wabo in Mexico, and by continuing to produce music generally true to his extremely popular '80s solo and Van Hagar material.

Sammy Hagar calls his band – either his fifth or sixth, depending if HSAS is counted or not – the Circle because this quartet brings him back to where he started. A look at the band's lineup illustrates why Hagar believes this to be true. Within the Circle, Hagar surrounds himself with some old running mates – notably, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony anchors the group, but Waboritas guitarist Vic Johnson also has a prominent place in the band, while drummer Jason Bonham provides a reminder of the Zeppelin influence on Hagar's earliest band, Montrose…

With the upcoming release of Space Between, the band harnesses the depth of their artistic experiences and seminal collaborative sound with Hagar's prolific writing vein to produce an album that builds and explodes, song after song, around the concepts of money, greed, enlightenment and truth. Formed in 2014, the acclaimed supergroup featuring Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson, quickly established themselves as one of the most emphatic and exciting live acts on tour today, seamlessly ripping through career-spanning hits from Montrose, Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and The Waboritas and Led Zeppelin.