Browsing Tags bob james
Bob James & Mike Henderson close out Jazz Festival with a Historic Performance
Marshall natives Bob James and Mike Henderson took to the stage together for a final performance at the Bob James Jazz Festival Saturday night, May 18, in a historic moment that brought the two artists together on stage for the first time ever.
Related show
Marshall H.S. Senior receives 1st Bob James Music Scholarship
Marshall Cultural Council announced Friday, May 10, that Marshall High School senior and accomplished clarinetist Kirby Brayman is the recipient of the first Bob James Music Scholarship, according to a news release from the organization.
Marshall native Bob James made a donation to MCC after the 2012 Bob James Jazz Festival to enable to the organization to establish the scholarship fund, which is intended to provide support to a Marshall student who has shown a devotion to music.
Bob James leads intimate Master Class at the recent Bob James Jazz Festival
In his first appearance at the 2013 jazz festival of his namesake, Marshall native Bob James offered a lecture to a group of approximately 20 people Saturday morning, May 18, at the Eckilson-Mabee Theater of Missouri Valley College.
James arrived at MVC at around 9 a.m. sporting a Hawaiian shirt, jeans, a black sports coat and his signature sunglasses. His outfit, much like his music, are a testimony to James’ air of easy-going cheerfulness that he transmitted to the attendees Saturday morning as he talked about his career.
Bob James & David Sanborn to Perform with the Legendary Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Bob James & David Sanborn will perform with the Legendary Roots!!!
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
June 7, 2013
Justin Tedaldi Examines ‘Quartette Humaine,’ with Bob James & his 50 years in music: Part 2 of 2
We’ve been talking about jazz this whole time, but to the younger generation you’re mostly known as someone whose work has been sampled in countless hip-hop songs.
[Pauses] Is that a question? [Laughs]
On first glance, you’re probably the last person in the world that would be associated with hip-hop, as indelible as the melodies and the compositions that you’ve come up with are. Do you have any idea how it all started? I’m guessing it was from “Nautilus,” but when did you first realize that something was going on there?
I wish I knew. I was flabbergasted, and I think I was probably a little bit slow in even finding out about that crazy phenomenon that happened. The first one that I discovered came about as a result of a friend calling me to ask me if I was aware of [DJ] Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and they had a recording [“Here We Go Again”] in which they had sampled my recording of “Westchester Lady.” This came before, whether or not historically it came before the sampling of “Nautilus,” I don’t know, but this was the first one that I became aware of. And it reached the public spotlight because their record [“Parents Just Don’t Understand”] won the [Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance].
Justin Tedaldi Examines ‘Quartette Humaine,’ with Bob James & his 50 years in music: Part 1 of 2
Jazz legends Bob James and David Sanborn pay tribute to the iconic Dave Brubeck Quartet on their new album Quartette Humaine, their first collaboration since their 1986 platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning Double Vision disc. An all-acoustic project featuring bassist James Genus and drummer Steve Gadd, the album (released May 21) is the heart of an ambitious national tour featuring the four musicians with a launch planned at New York’s Town Hall June 6.
This year also marks the fiftieth anniversary of James’ discovery by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival and the recording of his first album as a leader, Bold Conceptions. Since that time, James has released 58 albums, with highlights including the international smash “Angela (Theme from Taxi)” and his long-running association with the jazz supergroup Fourplay.
Bob James & David Sanborn: Tour Kick Off!
Bob James & David Sanborn kick off the tour for their new album, Quartette Humaine, at The Town Hall in New York City on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 8 pm.
Tickets are selling quickly, so get yours now!
PURCHASE TICKETS
‘Esprit De Four’: 40% Off Sale Until June 3, 2013
Fourplay’s Esprit de Four is currently on sale as part of the Barnes & Noble 40% off Jazz sale!
PURCHASE HERE
‘Quartette Humaine’ is Critical Jazz to own
My musical easy button…Having grown up listening to both Bob James and David Sanborn, I can say without hesitation that I may be a tad biased but when you are lucky enough to have your musical horizons broadened thanks to the ever evolving talent of Bob James then life is indeed good. Earlier this year Bob James was kind enough to field some questions for this site and with that came the best reminder a critic or a musician could ever hope for…Always be open to new ideas and new ways for expressing your artistic voice.
Aside from the equally talented David Sanborn, the addition of James Genus on bass is nothing short of a stroke of pure musical genius. Genus quietly goes about his craft with the precision and flair that make some draw comparisons to Christian McBride. While artistic comparisons are inherently unfair to all parties it is safe to say that James Genus is on equal footing with any acoustic bassist and paired with legendary drummer Steve Gadd (Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and Chick Corea) you have a formidable rhythm section with unlimited musicality and the perfect harmonic base from which James & Sanborn can work without a net.
The conceptual basis for this stellar offering is two fold. Bob James has the same innate gift that the great Dave Brubeck has for establishing an emotional connectivity with the audience and musicians involved in this session while David Sanborn assumes the Paul Desmond role while channelling his inner Hank Crawford and David “Fathead Newman” for that lyrical intensity that inspired the young Sanborn while growing up in St. Louis. Quartette Humaine is the first full fledged reunion since the 1986 platinum selling, Grammy Award winning release, Double Vision.
James & Sanborn contribute seven original compositions out of the nine tunes listed with two covers arranged by James. A review in the traditional sense does not seem to work here. For those with more contemporary tastes consider this the acoustic flip side to Double Vision. If the straight ahead vibe is your wheelhouse then you may be hard pressed to find a better recording this year.
Bob James & David Sanborn’s Quartette Humaine is a celebration of great American music from two of the most influential figures across any genre of the music business today.
Perfection on a shiny silver disc.
Tracks
You Better Not Go To College
Geste Humain; Sofia
Follow Me; My Old Flame
Another Time, Another Place
Montezuma
Genevieve
Deep In The Weeds
Personnel
Bob James: piano
David Sanborn: alto and soprano, sopranino saxophones
Steve Gadd: drums
James Genus: bass
Javier Diaz: percussion on “Deep In The Weeds”
Look for Bob James and David Sanborn to be touring across the United States this summer with dates including the Playboy Jazz Festival on June 16th in Los Angeles and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland on July 16th.