Producers of a new documentary series, American Roots Music, will be in Nashville Thursday (July 12) to work on a musical theme for the PBS project. Bluegrass greats Ricky Skaggs, Earl Scruggs and Stuart Duncan, blues legend James Cotton and Cajun stalwart Mark Savoy will record the theme at Skaggs' studio. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a collaborator on the four-part series, which will feature masters in the fields of folk, country, blues, gospel, western swing, bluegrass, Cajun, zydeco, Tejano and Native American music. The series will feature music by Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Clifton Chenier and others. Produced and directed by Jim Brown, the series will air on PBS on four consecutive Mondays beginning Oct. 29. Like Ken Burns' recent Jazz series, American Roots Music will feature companion CD, VHS and DVD box sets and a companion coffee table book. 07/11/01