Interview: Vince Gill plans a busy autumn, including Time Jumpers album release and 2 Oklahoma shows

A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. Look for more of my interview with Vince next week.

Vince Gill plans a busy autumn
The Oklahoma native is marking the release of a new album with venerated Western swing band The Time Jumpers, collaborating with fellow hall of fame talents on a star-studded project honoring the late Hank Cochran and planning not one but two fall shows in his home state.

“That’s the neat thing about all these years of doing what I’ve done is the whole point of it is to collaborate with somebody. I never enjoyed playing music by myself. I wanted to play it with somebody … so it’s like a conversation. If you’re all by yourself, it’s just talking to yourself,” Gill said in a phone interview from his home in Nashville, Tenn., earlier this week.

The Oklahoma native is giving his fans plenty to talk about this autumn. He is marking the release of a new album with venerated Western swing band The Time Jumpers, collaborating with fellow hall of fame talents on a star-studded project honoring the late Hank Cochran and planning not one but two fall shows in his home state.

After nearly 30 years as a solo artist, the former member of Byron Berline’s Sundance, Pure Prairie League, Rodney Crowell’s Cherry Bombs and more is back in a band. Gill, 55, officially joined The Time Jumpers in 2010 after many years of playing with the renowned Nashville ensemble.

He said performing in a band isn’t that different than making your way as a solo artist: The keys are still playing your best and respecting your fellow musicians.

In the case of The Time Jumpers, playing your best is a tall order. Gill’s name may be the most recognizable of the group, but it consists of some of Nashville’s top studio musicians. Since the band started playing its regularly Monday slot at the famed Station Inn bluegrass club back in 1998, stars as bright and diverse as Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Kings of Leon, The White Stripes, Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Kelly Clarkson and Robert Plant have jumped at the chance to hear The Time Jumpers.

Back in spring, the Western swing outfit made the leap from the Station Inn to the much larger 3rd & Lindsley nightclub in downtown Music City, and on Tuesday, The Time Jumpers will mark another milestone with the release of their self-titled album on Rounder Records. It is the band’s first studio record.

“I think people at home — you know, in Oklahoma and Texas — will eat this band up. … It’s an 11-piece Western swing band that primarily does Western swing music like Bob Wills used to do with triple fiddles and accordion, upright bass and two electric guitars,” said the Norman-born and Oklahoma City-bred singer/songwriter/musician.