Interview with Jose James
We had the pleasure of interviewing Jos\xe9 James over Zoom video!\xa0
Out now, the jazz voice of the hip hop generation Jos\xe9 James (Rainbow Blonde Records) releases his first ever Christmas album Merry Christmas from Jos\xe9 James. In addition to the album release, Jos\xe9 also premieres the official performance video for the original track "Christmas in New York" today.
The contemporary album celebrates the holiday season while honoring classic jazz and pop records of the 1950s. Combining the classic jazz-crooner elegance of Frank Sinatra and Nat \u201cKing\u201d Cole with the earthy sophistication of soul legends Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, the ten track Merry Christmas from Jos\xe9 James takes listeners on a world-class holiday experience from one of the greatest living voices in jazz.
Listeners can find two original tracks, \u201cChristmas in New York\u201d and \u201cChristmas Day\u201d along with popular ballads such as \u201cThe Christmas Song,\u201d \u201cWhite Christmas,\u201d \u201cLet it Snow\u201d and \u201cThis Christmas,\u201d a modern twist on the Donny Hathaway holiday favorite. In James' version, he musically brings an aspect of R&B and hip-hop to the mostly Jazz collection.
Songwriting for the project was spearheaded by Jos\xe9 James and his partner, recently Grammy nominated Talia Billig. The album\u2019s studio band features Grammy winning and nominated all stars Ben Williams (bass), Aaron Parks(piano), Jharis Yokley (drums) and Marcus Strickland (soprano saxophone). Produced by Jos\xe9 James and Brian Bender and recorded by Ariel Shafir at Dreamland Studios, the album was mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios. The session was recorded completely live on 2\u201d tape and mixed in LCR (left-center-right) by Brian Bender at Motherbrain West.
\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect album to put on whenever there\u2019s a certain spirit in the air,\u201d James says. \u201cI hope that people can feel a little bit of the joy and the wonder, year round, that 8-year-old Jos\xe9 felt, not only about Christmas and all the obvious things\u2014the ornaments, the tree, the holiday season\u2014but also the music,\u201d he continued.
A 13 date tour to support the album will launch at SF Jazz in San Francisco on November 27th and conclude at New York\u2019s City Winery on December 14th. Stops also include Seattle, Portland, Santa Cruz, LA, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Minneapolis and Chicago. (All tour dates listed below).
About Jos\xe9 James
James, a Minneapolis, MN native who spent most of his career in New York, was discovered by Gilles Peterson in London before his major label debut with Blue Note Records. He has produced and written 11 albums covering the best of jazz, pop, hip-hop and R&B. In 2017, Jos\xe9 made his screen debut with a performing role in Fifty Shades Darker. He now lives in Amsterdam with Talia Billig, his partner and Grammy nominated songwriter.
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