Woody Allen to use clarinet to trumpet 'Scorpion'

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- Woody Allen is casting against type.

Legendarily averse to promoting his films, Allen has agreed to bring his New York-based clarinet westward in August for the first time ever -- all to promote his new picture, "Curse of the Jade Scorpion," Variety reports.

Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles will host Eddy Davis & His New Orleans Jazz Band, featuring Woody Allen. The performances will benefit local music charities.

DreamWorks is releasing "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" nationwide on Aug. 10. Allen will be on hand to introduce the screenings in each city.

Every Monday night for years, New Yorkers have come to hear Davis' band -- with Allen on clarinet -- at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. While Allen embarked on a 1996 European tour (showcased in the documentary "Wild Man Blues"), next month marks the first time that he will perform live on the West Coast.

The tour begins Aug. 1 in Seattle with a screening of "Scorpion." The following evening, Allen will take the stage with Eddy Davis & His New Orleans Jazz Band at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley.

On Aug. 3, Allen & Co. head to San Francisco, where the helmer will introduce a screening of "Scorpion." A jazz concert at Yoshi's at Oakland's Jack London Square follows.

The tour closes in Los Angeles, where "Scorpion" will unspool Aug. 6. The next night, Allen and his Eddy Davis compatriots will perform a benefit at the Jazz Bakery.

Tickets for the concerts in each city go on sale locally July 23 at 10 a.m.

Allen wrote, directed and stars in "Scorpion," which also stars Dan Aykroyd, Helen Hunt, Brian Markinson, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers and Charlize Theron.

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