HARTFORD - When the whirling, dipping, harmonica honking dervish that is Peter Wolf steps onto the stage fronting the legendary J Geils Band, fans know exactly what they're in for, which is what makes waiting for every new solo project so exciting.A Cure For Loneliness, dropped the first week of April, with fans and critics alike all eager for a taste, and discovering that there's a lot more than a cheap little plastic whistle or peel and stick tattoo inside.Midnight Souvenirs, which included duets with Shelby Lynn, Neko Case, Willy DeVille, and the late, great Merle Haggard, this new project was slated to have only one duet... but we'll get to that eerie tale in a moment.peterwolf.com. "I joined my first band to meet musicians. Painting was a fascination for me, but I was a music fanatic, and sitting in with that band was a born-again type of experience for me. I was transfixed, and myself and some of the guys in the band would check out performances by the musicians we admired so much, like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and John Coltrane and Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. Those roots stayed with me."The Newtown Bee and seemed pleased to dig into conversation that avoided a lot of talk about his other band, and primarily focused on his new album and future tour.Newtown Bee: This new album is new and fresh, but it also has a really comfortable familiarity and a feel of Americana. What were you going for when you settled down to start thinking about putting together A Cure for Loneliness?Peter Wolf: Well thank you, John. I think this is just a continuation of several of the solo albums I was making. The last one had Shelby Lynn, Neko Case and Merle Haggard joining me on duets. On this one, I wouldn't say I was trying to go for anything specific like Americana, it's just the kind of music I enjoy and listen to.Bee: I think back to some of the coherent interviews with John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd when they were putting The Blues Brothers together, and they talked a lot about the Stones and how they also wanted to turn people on to great musicians and songs folks probably otherwise wouldn't know about.Wolf: We have tried - and it's something I tried to do on this record.Bee: One-third of the material that made it onto A Cure For Loneliness was co-written by Will Jennings. Tell me a little about that relationship and if any other ideas came out of that collaboration that you could put in the bank for a future project?Wolf: Will and I have been collaborators for quite some time, this is the fifth or sixth album we've worked on. We have sort of a kinship and friendship -I am blessed by being able to work with such an incredibly talented brother. I can't put in words how much... I'm just so grateful to know him.Bee: Does he come to you with pretty fully formed ideas, and you just tweak them?Wolf: Anything goes. On some, Will has had a tremendous amount of input, and we've come at songs through many different variations. But his contributions are always extremely profound. But it's the same with the players I work with - you know you're only as good as the director on a film, or the playwright for the stage.The Godfather that Anthony Quinn would play Don Corleone. And he's a fine actor, but Brando was so mesmerizing in that role - you couldn't ever imagine anyone else doing it.Bee: I guess it's that way with Duke Levine. The first time I saw you with him, I was hooked. Then, to my delight, he shows up with you on the Geils Band tour. And I never would have known about him if it wasn't for him being in your band.Wolf: That makes me really happy to hear - and you have to check out his new album. And I'm glad you mentioned that tour. It's a lot like with the Rolling Stones, or Tom Petty or the Allman Brothers. Sometimes changes are necessary, and you always hope it's going to be for the better.Bee: So I understand that while you wanted to carry most of this new album on your own, it sounds like you had Bobby Womack already lined up to record with you when you got some bad news?Wolf: Bobby was maybe going to also be on the last record, but scheduling didn't permit it. So we were doing this track called "It's Raining," which was written by Don Covey who is a really good friend of Bobby's. And the truth is, we had just finished the track and just as I walked out of the studio, my producer Kenny White comes up to me and says, "Wolf, you're not gonna believe this, but I just saw on my phone that Bobby Womack passed away." And it was so eerie - so I turned around, went back in and recorded that introduction you hear on the new album.Bee: Was Bobby somebody you knew for a long time?Wolf: Yes, and while I didn't know him well I was a tremendous fan. He and his brothers, in their band The Valentinos, were the first ones to record "Lookin' For A Love". It was an old gospel song that got transformed into an R&B number. So the Valentinos were the first ones to record it before the J Geils Band. And his manager who wrote the song was somebody I got to know. I was hoping to ... that was a sad day when we learned about Bobby.Bee: And he was the only person you were thinking about for a duet on the new album?Wolf: Well, I had met and was a big fan of Loretta Lynn, and I thought she might be good to call in to do "Stranger," but as the thing progressed, I figured the last record had a lot of duets on it. And I don't like to do duets just to be exploitative of the guests, they have to really work.Bee: Did you envision doing something in the musical style of "Mr Mistake," or did you come up with the lyrics and discovered later they worked really well in sort of a Big Band format? Wolf: It's funny you should say that because I did originally envision that one could be done with a bigger band. As you know I had some string ensemble on the last recording. So a full Sinatra-esque Big Band, or a raise-up honkin' band like Louis Jordan, was an idea, but I didn't want it to seem out of place. So we left it pretty raw.Bee: Like an 18-piece band with just a few guys on it?Wolf: Yes, I'm glad you recognized that.Newtown Bee: A Cure For Loneliness mixes in a few live tracks besides "Love Stinks" which you'd been doing in that bluegrass style already. Had you tracked the other numbers in studio, but then decided the live cuts brought something more to the project?Wolf: Yes, we actually had two versions of each song - live and in-studio - and it was a hard choice sometimes deciding which one to go with. So we cherry picked from those. So one night we were fooling around and we decided to try to do "Love Stinks" in a bluegrass style.Bee: It was embraced by the fans. I remember seeing you do that one in Tarrytown (N.Y.).Wolf: That night we were recording the hole set. That's where I think the recording on the album comes from. That's funny that you were there.See Peter Wolf open his latest US Tour at Infinity Hall & Bistro in Hartford April 29 and returns to ,Infinity Hall in Norfolk May 5. A digital download of Peter Wolf's new album, A Cure For Loneliness, is included with every ticket ordered for this show.Check out Peter Wolf singing a classic J Geils Band classic "Must Of Got Lost" in this 2015 show from the Blue Ocean Hall in Salisbury, MA.One of his finest ballads, "The Green Fields of Summer" - Peter Wolf and his band live at Mr Smalls in Pittsburgh.

It's like a box of Cracker Jacks. You know there's a prize somewhere inside, but to find it, you've got to open it up.

Wolf's latest album, 

Wolf's new project is a treasure trove of exciting new tunes that range in subtle diversity from a stripped down swing number with a Big Band feel and other with a bluegrass take on an old classic to several thoughtful ballads that continue to prove this songwriter is so much more than just a blues singer from Boston.

And unlike his previous project

On his own and sans duets, Wolf continues to create material, tapping long-time collaborators - the songwriter Will Jenning and keyboardist/co-producer Kenny White - to put even greater depth and polish on every track.

Then he brings in the band and the magic really starts to happen.

Throughout his career, Wolf has maintained a good eye and a great ear, surrounding himself with stellar players. At the same time he's kept his ego in check and has remained humble (and smart) enough to step back and let them shine, making his own creative output sparkle just a bit more brilliantly in the process.

"I didn't join a band to meet girls," Wolf recalls in his official bio at

Hartford's intimate Infinity Music Hall & Bistro, and returning the Norfolk's Infinity Hall on Thursday, May 5.

Wolf and his band, The Midnight Travelers - featuring guitarists Duke Levine, Kevin Barry, bassist Marty Ballou, and White - will be hitting the road starting April 29 with a tour opener at

Ahead of those dates, Wolf called into

I can see why some people might like to place it in that category. But it's just a collection of songs - some of them cover songs that I always loved and decided to record like we did with the Geils band when we did "First I Look at the Purse" or "House Party" and like what the Stones have done.

A lot of people think the Stones wrote "Time Is On My Side," but it was really an older song. That's one of the jobs I kind of enjoy doing, turning people on to music or artists they might not be aware of. It's not to copy it, it's like having you over to my house and playing them a recording they might not have heard before. Throughout the years we've turned people on to artists like Little Walter and Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and the Showstoppers, which is a great R&B group.

There was a lot of talk when they were casting

That's what it's like with the players I have. They're great artists and they bring to me - just like Will does - let's just say they always keep the bar raised pretty high.

This time the change gave the Geils Band fans a really powerful evening of music. I was happy to have someone as incredible as Duke beside me during those Geils runs.

So this time I felt as we were going along, I thought let's just leave it as it is.

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