Across his almost six-decade career, Bob James’ music has meant many things to different people. To those who have an interest in Creed Taylor’s iconic CTI Records, the memorable label that incentivized artists to merge jazz with ideas from other genres, James is a familiar name. Between his own significant releases and his contributions to albums by artists including Grover Washington Jr., Stanley Turrentine, and Hubert Laws, he was core member of what James refers to as the CTI repertory. To those who love “smooth jazz”, James is one of the founders. In a list of the ten greatest albums of the style, his name appears on nearly half. To hip hop heads, James is royalty; one of the most sampled artists of all time, certainly the most sampled from the jazz lineage. In the pop sphere, some may know him for his work with Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, or Kenny Loggins. He’s reimagined classical pieces several times. And, underneath it all, a somewhat quiet undercurrent of avant-garde experimentalism.
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