The following report is courtesy of Greg Prato from Billboard.com:

The younger brother of guitar legend JIMI HENDRIX, LEON HENDRIX, is readying his first domestically available album, which will be released early next year. The Gotham Metro Company will be releasing the yet-to-be-titled set, and is also behind a movie about Jimi's life.

The disc follows Leon's 2005 debut, Keeper Of The Flame, which is available through his website. Until a dream he experienced a few years ago, Leon had not received a calling to pursue music himself.

"One night, there was a guitar sitting in the corner of the room that [had] been sitting there for 15 months. In my mind, it seemed vibrating -- it was calling me. This vision came to me. Jimi said, 'Hey, you've got music in your blood and it's in your veins. You need to start doing it.' Before, I didn't dare touch a guitar, because who could play guitar after Jimi? I'm not trying to be Jimi -- I have my own style. I'm not a maestro, I'm just a minstrel."

Producer Greg Hampton also co-wrote songs with Leon and adds additional guitar. Among the tracks on the disc are "Last Mistake" ("a funky rock thing reminiscent of STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN or LENNY KRAVITZ," says Hampton), "Little South of Crazy" (co-written with Danny Tate) and the midtempo ballad "Blue September."

"That came about because Jimi died on Sept. 18, 1970, and Seattle in September is kind of grey and blue," Leon says. "Most of my songs are about Jimi -- he's the most shining star in my life." The song can be sampled on Hendrix's MySpace site.

Also included are covers of 'Hey Joe' and 'All Along the Watchtower', as well as contributions from singer GLENN HUGHES (ex-DEEP PURPLE) and bassist Ricky Phillips (STYX).

As for the oft-discussed film about Jimi's life, Hampton (who is also working on music for the movie) says the script is in its third re-write, and actors-to-be are still going through readings. "As far as musically, there will be true renditions with modern elements intermixed within the overall structure of Jimi's music," he says. "There will be covers by various artists, as well as some scoring variables musically throughout the film that are fairly reminiscent of Jimi's style -- with various contemporary guitar players reproducing that particular approach."