BETHLEHEM, Pa. — In a career of more than 50 years, singer-songwriter/musician/producer Aaron "Professor Louie" Hurwitz has worked with a long list of musical luminaries.
So it should be no surprise that when Professor Louie and his Grammy Award-nominated band, Professor Louie & the Crowmatix, decided to record an album of covers, they chose songs from acts to whom they had professional connections.
Tickets, at $20, are available in advance at the Belltower website. They will be $25 at the door.Belltower Cultural Center
The result is the new "Crowin' Around," the 18th full-length album for the band, which is made up of longtime players from the musical community of Woodstock, New York.
The album features music of The Band, Bob Dylan, Commander Cody, Graham Parker and other notable musicians, all of whom have worked with Louie & the Crowmatix.
Professor Louie and The Crowmatix will perform some of those songs when it performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 at the new Bell Tower Cultural Center, 2904 Church Road, Lower Mount Bethel Township.
Tickets, at $20, are available in advance at the Bell Tower website. They will be $25 at the door.
"We picked a song from each one of those groups, so the record would have some variation," Professor Louie said in a call from his LRS Reording studio in Woodstock.
“So the record’s got good variation, some great reviews — fantastic reviews — and it’s been on about 100 radio stations across the country.”
Forming a band
Hurwitz, a native of Peekskill, New York, first gained broad attention in the music world playing with The Band's bassist Rick Danko, who gave him the nickname Professor Louie.
By 1990 Professor Louie was producing the recorded work of The Band, which after breaking up with a final concert released as the movie "The Last Waltz," had reformed and started recording again.
He produced all three albums The Band recorded after reforming — 1993's renowned disc "Jerico," which included its critically acclaimed cover of Bruce Spingsteen's "Atlantic City"; 1996's "High on the Hog"; and its last disc, 1996's "Jubilation."
That work also led to Professor Louie producing albums by Commander Cody, best known for its 1972 Top 10 hit "Hot Rod Lincoln;" Graham Parker, whose 1972 album "Squeezing Out Sparks" was a new wave touchstone; and blues great Guy Davis.
Because of those connections, Professor Louie also crossed paths with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and others.
He and the Crowmatix also for years toured as backing musicians for The Band.
But by 2000, Louie and the Crowmatix also branched out as an independent band playing blues, roots, Americana, folk and even gospel music. It since has been nominated for Grammy Awards.
'Positive and fun message'
Professor Louie said that with the new album, the group "really wanted to present a positive message and a fun message."
"So we started with a song that’s done really well for us on the radio called ‘Elevate Yourself,’" he said in the call. “That started the record in terms of having a positive motion because we really wanted to have a fairly original record."
He said the group wrote seven songs, then decided to revisit its career with covers of artists with whom members had worked.
"And we just went into the studio and, you know, did exactly that. And it came out great."Professor Louie
“So we recorded a song of The Band — a song we used to play with [band drummer and singer] Levon Helm" called "Rag Mama Rag."
The group included Commander Cody's "Too Much Fun," which Professor Louie said "was a good hit for him. And I produced Graham Parker, so we recorded one of his songs" — “Stick To The Plan.”
The album also includes a song by obscure classical artist Moondog, whom Professor Louie said "used to dress up in a Viking outfit on 57th Street" in New York.
"And I used to drive a cab in New York, and I picked him up and it turns out he was a classical composer, and we recorded one of his songs" — in instrumental, he said.
“And then, because I had worked with The Band and came in contact with Bob Dylan here and there, we recorded one of Bob Dylan’s songs" — “Watching The River Flow.”
“And so that’s pretty much how the record started," Professor Louie said. "And we just went into the studio and, you know, did exactly that. And it came out great."
'It's a group of musicians'
The group's last full album was 2022's "Strike Up the Band," but Professor Louie notes that he and the Crowmatix also released an EP on vinyl only.
“Between that, there’s always other projects we’re doing to earn a living," he said. “Plus, it’s good to release [only] things you really believe in and you want to perform live.”
"My name’s out front, but because that’s just the way it worked out for business.”Professor Louie
Speaking of live performances, Professor Louie said the Crowmatix still perform about 150 concerts a year.
The lineup will include Professor Louie on vocals and keyboards, Miss Marie on percussion, Frank Campbell on bass, John Platania on guitar and Eric Puente on drums, though the drummer on most of the album was Dan Hickey.
In addition, the show will include a horn section. Professor Louie said the group works with local horn players at each venue it plays; at Bell Tower it will be the Woodstock Horns from Scranton.
"We’re on a constant tour because it’s a group of musicians," Professor Louie said. "My name’s out front, but because that’s just the way it worked out for business.”
Lifetime ties and new artists
Professor Louie said the January death of The Band keyboardist Garth Hudson at 87 was particularly hard because Hudson was the group's last original member.
"I was one of the only musicians who spoke at his memorial, his funeral," Professor Loui said. "Toward the end it was a little rough because he was not doing too well, but we were always in touch psychically."
"I’ll produce a well-known group like Graham Parker or somebody like that, like The Band, and then move on to a new group, an up-and-coming group,"Professor Louie
He noted he produced Hudson's only solo record, 2001's "The Sea to the North."
He said he "crosses paths quite a bit" with Jim Weider, who was The Band's guitarist — having replaced original Robbie Robertson — when he produced The Band.
“We were on the road together for about 15 years," he said of Weider. "I produced the records when he was playing a lot of the lead guitar.
"He lives close to us, so once in a while we run into each other at the store, and we talk.”
But Professor Louie said that, even after all of the prominent names with whom he's worked, he still is excited by new talent.
"I’ll produce a well-known group like Graham Parker or somebody like that, like The Band, and then move on to a new group, an up-and-coming group," he said.
He mentioned rising Woodstock-born folk artist Stella Prince.
“She was a whole different dynamic because she was, I think, 20 years old when I produced her," Professor Louie said. "And that gives you a whole different outlook on things.
"So it’s great to keep the variation of music going, you know?”
