Joy Harjo, Dave Carter, and Tuatara will all release albums this fall through Barrett Martin's (Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Tuatara, R.E.M.) Fast Horse Recordings.   

Harjo, a Native American poet and saxophonist, will release Winding Through The Milky Way on September 16.  Harjo says the album "is a little road music to accompany us as we make the timeless journey between earth and sky."  Grammy-winner Larry Mitchell produced the set, her first for Fast Horse.

Trumpet player Dave Carter will release his solo debut Commitment and Change on October 21.  Carter has played with Martin on his solo records as well as with Tuatara.  Carter is joined by Martin on drums and percussion, John Rangel on piano, and Luis Guerra on upright bass.  Guerra has also worked with Martin on his solo records.  Martin and Carter co-produced the album. 

Is it Tuatara's seventh album or Coleman Barks' first?  Why can't it be both?  A street date and title for the project have been revealed on drummer/co-founder Barrett Martin's MySpace page.  The Here And The Gone is currently slated for a November 18th release date.

Barks, the famed American Sufi poet, has collaborated with Tuatara before (most notably on the East of The Sun record) but contribute words and voice to a full album for the first time with this release.

The band – Martin, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey – teamed with some guest musicians and provided music for roughly 20 of Barks' poems and the best 16 will be presented on The Here And The Gone.

There are even tentative plans for a Tuatara/Barks tour sometime in early 2009.  There is nothing concrete yet, but the idea has been floated and work is underway toward making it a reality.

All of this is great news as I've been looking forward to hearing to these releases since hearing Martin discuss them when he appeared on the B-Sides Concept Album in January.  In that interview he said the release he was the most excited about is Dave Carter's, and consequently that's the one I'm most eager to hear.  I really liked the East of the Sun record and Barks' unique presence brought a mystical feel to those songs on which he appeared.  It will be interesting to see if that can work over the course of a full album.  I'm favorably inclined towards it.  I'm not at all familiar with Joy Harjo, so I'm looking forward to hearing something brand new.