More About Jose James
Jose James didn't win the 2004 Thelonious Monk competition, which might have been a good thing. Unburdened by that crown, he's followed his own path, flavoring his music with jazz, funk, hip-hop, electronica and R&B. After recording two albums for British DJ/producer Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label and a third for Impulse! (The Dreamer, with Belgian pianist Jef Neve), he signed to Blue Note, which releases No Beginning No End in January. (The album opener, "It's All Over Your Body," came out Tuesday on an EP; "Trouble" is the iTunes Single of the Week.) "I first saw Jose James at the Jazz Standard, and he had a smoking little band," Jackson says. "I heard his free-wheeling nature. I also saw him at Kuumbwa Jazz Center with McCoy Tyner. It's clear to me he's a very well-schooled musician. Fun, but serious at the same time." This is a live version from a standard he recorded on Blackmagic. - via NPR
