SEATTLE -- Janie Hendrix, president of Experience Hendrix, the family company formed by Jimi Hendrix's late father, Al Hendrix, heads to trial on Monday, June 28 in Seattle's Superior Court to wage a full fledged effort to honor her father's wishes and to defend the Jimi Hendrix legacy from Leon Hendrix and Craig Dieffenbach, a forty-three year-old Seattle-based resident. Leon Hendrix and Dieffenbach are seeking to overturn the will of the late James A. "Al" Hendrix.

The association between Leon Hendrix and Dieffenbach has been revealed in various recent press accounts. Dieffenbach, who has also served as Leon Hendrix's Manager', had in previous years unsuccessfully attempted to make a biographical movie about Jimi Hendrix. Al Hendrix and his company Experience Hendrix rejected the proposal.

Al Hendrix's death in April 2002 and the revelation that Leon was not a beneficiary under Al's will has led directly to the lawsuit and a steady stream of personal attacks made against the legendary guitarist's late father and others associated with him. Leon Hendrix and his associates have made public their criticisms of Experience Hendrix, the production company founded by Jimi's late father. Janie Hendrix remains steadfast in her efforts to respect her father's last wishes and to protect the guitarist's legacy. "We will continue to safeguard Jimi's incredible musical legacy as best we can, making it available to fans with the best possible quality. My father had many opportunities to sell Jimi's catalog. He could have taken the money and walked away but he never did. He never wanted to sell. He wanted Jimi's music to remain in the family forever. We will continue to honor his wishes."

Leon's various accusations about Al Hendrix and Experience Hendrix have rankled former Jimi Hendrix Experience band members Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox. The two have rushed to the defense of Experience Hendrix and decry these charges as being completely unfounded.

"I know how much Al Hendrix meant to Jimi," recalled Mitch Mitchell. "It was important to Jimi that he made Al proud of him. We both had a strong affection for our fathers who had signed on the dotted line for us to get our first instruments. This meant a lot of money in those days, which neither of our families had to spare, but somehow Dad came up trumps for both of us."

Bassist Billy Cox, who first befriended Jimi Hendrix when the two served in the US Army's 101st Airborne Division and later joined him in both the Band Of Gypsys and the Experience, is extremely pleased with the work the Hendrix family has completed since taking control in 1995. "Nobody cared about any of us musicians until Experience Hendrix came into being," states Cox.

"We were never consulted about anything to do with the Jimi's music until the Hendrix family took over. I think Jimi would be proud of the way Janie and the company have kept the music available to people around the world."

Mitchell strongly concurs with Cox: "Janie Hendrix has done her best to rectify the miserable, unjust situation which had gone on year after year. Janie cares about the music, she cares about the legacy and the fans. Until Janie came on the scene there was no one in my opinion who gave a stuff about the quality of the music, about Jimi's name, and certainly about me. As for me, no one but Janie ever bothered and for that I am deeply grateful and count her as that rare thing: a friend."

Eddie Kramer engineered all of the albums Hendrix issued during his lifetime and now looks after the release of new albums issued by Experience Hendrix.

Says Kramer, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to the restoration of this brilliant music." The former engineer is also angered by the negative depictions of Al Hendrix. "Al cared very deeply about his son's legacy," continues Kramer. "He could have walked away many times when the legal battles were raging. He could have sold out and let the legacy fall into the hands of those who didn't understand how seriously Jimi took his music."

The most recent Experience Hendrix release, Jimi Hendrix: Live At Berkeley has enjoyed wide critical approval. Other releases by the company have enjoyed similar praise. Rolling Stone called The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a four CD box set issued in September 2000, "the Rolls Royce of Rock box sets," Band Of Gypsys: Live At The Fillmore East earned a coveted Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Long Form Music Video. 2003's American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966 also earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Long Form Music Video

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