Busy musician Jimmy Lee Hannaford loves playing cover songs at his gigs along the Gulf Coast, but he’s ready to reveal more of his artistic skills as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. That’s exactly what he does on his brand-new album, called Jubilee.

When the Mississippi native moved to the Eastern Shore from Austin, Texas 17 years ago, he was already a seasoned performer with an engaging style that quickly earned him steady work. His continued growth as a singer, guitarist, writer, and more is on full display in this new collection of 10 songs. At the urging of producer Damon Henderson of Fairhope, Jimmy Lee played most of the instruments on Jubilee and also sang most of the vocals. He says it’s something he’s always wanted to do since he first started playing almost 45 years ago.

The project came about after Henderson, a musician and songwriter, saw him playing bass with The Nervous Tics, led by mutual friend Jimmy Lumpkin. He was intrigued when he learned that Jimmy Lee had songs of his own, and he wanted to hear them. He soon invited Jimmy Lee into his home studio for a long series of sessions that resulted in this album. 

“He’s a soulful Southern storyteller with a distinctive voice,” says Henderson, “and this album tells the stories and shares the emotions of our region of the country with elements of blues, folk, rock, and country music. The songs are multi-level—there is an emotional concept mixed into each song that makes it all work.”

While the album rocks and grooves in places with intertwining electric guitars, its steady centerpiece is the gentle, mostly acoustic “Waitin’ on a Jubilee.” It’s clearly inspired by time well spent on our scenic Mobile Bay.

“It’s a beautiful piece of musical artwork, balanced between abstract human emotions and the real-life mystery of this Gulf Coast phenomenon we call a jubilee,” Henderson says. “All of the songs on this album are worthy of this same praise, and yet, each is unique in style and message. It is worth a listen whether you are from here or whether you want to know what it feels like to be from here.”

People familiar with Jimmy Lee as a performer know him primarily as an acoustic guitarist who sings and also plays harmonica. Many also know him as an accomplished, energetic bassist who has also worked with such groups as the Nervous Tics as well as Sugarcane Jane, Twang Gang, Andy MacDonald, and the Flying Cobras. On his new release, he also showcases his skills as a lead guitarist, harmony singer, and keyboardist. His longtime accompanist Jose Santiago contributes congas and djembe on roughly half the songs. 

This is Jimmy Lee’s second full-length release. While most of the songs on Jubilee started fresh in sessions with Henderson, one of them, “A Place in My Heart,” was salvaged from Jimmy Lee’s earlier recording experience in Texas. His first album, Outside In, came out in 2002, but that particular song was left incomplete and not included in that collection. It features Scott Blesener on violin and harmony vocals, (the late) Ron Erwin on drums, and John Main on bass. Jimmy Lee put down new vocals and electric guitars, but the rest of it dates back to the summer of 2001 when those sessions took place.

“These 10 songs on the album include some of the favorite ones I’ve written over the years,” says Jimmy Lee. “I had been performing some of them for many years but had never found the right opportunity to record them properly. Damon came along out of nowhere and made it happen, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

Jimmy Lee Hannaford’s Jubilee is out now on virtually all streaming platforms and is also available locally in CD format at Dr. Music in Fairhope as well as at Jimmy Lee’s live performances. A CD Release Party is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 at Bill-E’s, 19992 Highway 181 in Fairhope. 

Photography credits: Stephen Anderson

Additional information at Jimmy Lee Hannaford Music,

Waiting on a Jubilee Set List

Song: Waiting on a Jubilee