They announced that they plan on releasing these historic recordings--properly mixed, mastered and annotated--in definitive new editions, curated and remastered under the direction of Eddie Kramer (Hendrix's long-time sound engineer) over the next three years.

The total buyout of these master recordings places a historic exclamation point following decades of litigation between Jimi Hendrix, Ed Chalpin and PPX Enterprises. All 88 tracks recorded by Chalpin and PPX from 1965-1967 are finally under complete ownership and control of Experience Hendrix LLC.

In the early 1960s, before launching a solo career that continues to influence pop, rock and soul music, Jimi Hendrix was a little known sideman, working for short periods with a variety of artists including the Isley Brothers, Don Covay, Little Richard and the Harlem-based R&B combo Curtis Knight & The Squires.

Ed Chalpin was an entrepreneur and record producer who founded PPX International, Inc, in 1960; PPX specialized in providing backing tracks for movies, TV shows, trailers and commercials, working with a variety of artists, producers, directors, music supervisors, record companies, and production companies. During his tenure as a guitarist for the Squires, Curtis Knight introduced Hendrix to Chalpin. On October 15, 1965, Chalpin inked a notorious three-year recording contract--for $1.00 and a 1% royalty--with Jimi (then "Jimmy") Hendrix and Curtis Knight & The Squires that would prove endlessly problematic, once the guitarist hit big with his own group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, in 1967.

Knight's single releases featuring Hendrix as a sideman did not enjoy commercial success and the guitarist relocated to Greenwich Village where he formed Jimmy James & The Blue Flames in 1966. Animals bassist Chas Chandler discovered Hendrix performing at the Caf� Wha? as Jimmy James that summer and offered to take him to London. - more on this story

Hendrix CDs, DVDs and MP3s Hendrix T-shirts and Posters Share this article

...end