The superb archival collection Once Upon a Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions finds acclaimed pianist Bob James leading two separate trio dates during the early years of his career. Recorded by Resonance Records’ founder and co-president George Klabin while a freshman at Columbia University, the recordings capture James during a period in which he was working as a sideman with singer Sarah Vaughan and before he had established himself as a titan of crossover jazz, funk, and pop. These sessions came two years after his debut, 1962’s Bold Conceptions, and were recorded the same year he released his sophomore studio album, 1965’s Explosions. Perhaps not surprisingly then, Once Upon a Time is an almost perfect balance between the hard-swinging sophistication of his debut and the more avant-garde experimentalism of his follow-up.
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