Willie Nelson has jazz

Willie Nelson has a new album, but it's not country and is only available from the Internet or a US restaurant chain.

The star, who became famous with hits such as Whiskey River and On the Road Again, plans to release a disc of jazz songs, entitled Nacogdoches, on April 29.

He made the recordings five years ago at Encore Studios in the historic East Texas town that bears the album’s name.

“This is a labour of love that a label probably wouldn’t be willing to release,” the 70-year-old singer said.

The disc will be available exclusively through the website www.willienelson.com and at Texas Roadhouse restaurants, a chain sponsoring Nelson’s current tour as part of their long-time partnership.

The Nacogdoches idea started with a telephone call from mandolin player Paul Buskirk, one of Nelson’s earliest mentors and collaborators.

“I was coming in off a tour and Buskirk called me and told me some bad news he’d had and he said he just ‘felt like picking’,” recalled Nelson. “I went to go back to Nacogdoches from Austin, and Buskirk had put together a bunch of great musicians. We just sat down and started playing.”

Tracks on the album include Corrina, Deed I Do and Stardust.