Crack

Soul sensation José James has experience. Raised in Michigan, educated in Brooklyn with Irish-Panamanian parents, James’ multi-cultural roots have helped him fuse influences to stunning effect.

James’ first album The Dreamer was a thick, smoky, caliginous slice of soulful jazz delivered with an assurance that propelled him beyond his years and at the same time propelled the listener back to smoky 1950s New York.

James has deliberately experimented outside the realms of the typified jazz scene collaborating with industry stalwarts Basement Jaxx, Jazzanova, Moodymann and Ben Westbeech. His new album takes a more electronically experimental approach, enlisting Flying Lotus as main contributor alongside dubstep innovators Joy Orbison (check out the recreation remix) and Untold.

Here at Crack Towers we have been waiting in anticipation for the next offering, his new album Black Magic is almost upon us.


A guy with your talents surely has a musical heritage?

"My dad's a saxophone player and conguero; which means to be a master in Latin jazz and pop music. He's a monster musician, the kind who can play anything on almost any instrument. I just sing."

Your family is of Irish and Panamanian descent. That’s a rather interesting combination. Do you speak Spanish and English?

"Yes. My dad's Panamanian and my mom's Irish-American, but we only spoke English at home.
When did you decide you wanted a career in music? Has it been a lifelong journey for you?

"Well, probably in high school. I was in the ‘Pop/Jazz Singers’ which was a select group of the ‘A’ choir. I was also in the ‘B’ choir for a while which is kind of like a point guard playing for all the squads, because I was one of the only male singers! I got a chance to sing with a 10-piece professional band called Echoes of Ellington when they came to play at our school. I still remember the rush that came from being on stage with that big sound and looking out at all the kids. I was like, 'this is me!'"

Does your new album Black Magic differ from your previous record, The Dreamer? How has your sound grown?

"Definitely. This is 2010, whereas The Dreamer was sonically pitched in 1958. Working with a lot of different producers like Flying Lotus, Taylor McFerrin, and Moodymann, just puts everything in a different place and mood. I had to write differently and sing differently, which was great for me. I just got deep into the tracks I liked and it grew from there. Also on the tracks I produced with my live band, I was able to interpret a lot of things differently. I was able to make jazz sound like hip-hop and dubstep sound like jazz."

Where did you write Black Magic? What was the inspiration?

"Flying Lotus sent me the music and I loved it right away. I was in NY and he was in LA or on tour. This was the first track we had done after Visions of Violet and it flowed so easily. I was really inspired by Marvin Gaye and Leon Ware's album I Want You - which is one of my favourite classic records. I ended up in the studio with my homie Ryan, who wrote Love with me on The Dreamer. I just kept adding layers on some Curtis Mayfield vibe. It was dope."

You appear to have a great love of cultures, tell us about some of your favourite places and how they have influenced you?

"NY first off. The energy, the mixture of people, the life and the force of the city. The late nights where anything is possible and the amazing things happen. London is like my second home. It's more laid-back, but has a super-intense music scene that is constantly evolving and consuming itself. People are very into their thing there, whatever it is they do and there's a great sense of history in the city and its relationship to contemporary Europe. I love Toyko too, the blend of the ancient and the future. The tradition, the power and the drive to exist in the now; I relate to that. Plus, I love sushi."

Tell me about the highlights of making the album? How long were you recording for?

"We were recording for almost two years because it was very organic and things kept happening. I met Moodymann in London DJing and he sent me a track later, but I didn't have inspiration for that right away. It just happens sometimes, it's all timing. The last tracks on the album were all like that; a huge rush of inspiration just at the end that shifts the energy of the album. I did Code with Flying Lotus, Detroit Loveletter with Moodymann, and Love Conversation, which features Jordana de Lovely, with Taylor McFerrin, all in one week. Taylor and I were on the same flight from NY to Singapore for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival and we had a layover in Germany. He played me the music for Love Conversation and I had to rock that. By the time I landed back in NY, I was ready to hit the studio. You can't plan those things, they just happen."

Who did you have working on the album with you?

"So many people: Scott Jacoby, a Grammy-award winning engineer did the mixing, apart form the producers' individual work. Flying Lotus, DJ Mitsu the Beats, BiLo, Moodymann, and Talyor McFerrin. The live band was Gideon van Gelder on piano and Fender Rhodes, Richard Spaven and Adam Jackson on drums, Chris Smith and Alexi David on bass. Ryan Anselmi did the horn arrangements and played tenor along with Saunders Sermons on trombone - who also works with Jay-Z, Missy, Maxwell - Pablo Castanho on alto, and Takuya Kuroda on trumpet. Plus the guests: Jordana de Lovely from Brooklyn, Ryan Blum Kryzstal, Ben Westbeech, TK Wonder, and Junior Mance. Some of the extra tracks are Japan-only. Everybody blessed me and brought 110 per cent to the studio worldwide."

I'm impressed with your broad range of musical connections, how does a jazz artist hook up with a dubstep producer? Is there a secret circle?

"I'd call it Gilles Peterson's musical universe and being open to collaborate. A lot of people tell me, 'jazz people don't usually want to do anything but jazz, you're different', but Miles and Coltrane always kept expanding and just called it music or art.
Tell me about the link ups you have going on with Joy Orbison and Untold. How did they come about?

"That was Brownswood Studios and Gilles Peterson. They are great at hooking up remixes with interesting people."

And Flying Lotus, amazing! What happened there?

"He was in London promoting his Reset EP - which I still play a lot - and I was working on things for The Dreamer. We had a drink and I passed him like 30 tracks I was working on. He was like 'let's work' and asked me to do Visions of Violet for Los Angeles, which ended up not making the album but was an important direction for my Black Magic album. He's an amazing composer.

Who are you excited by at the moment? Any contemporary artists floating your boat? Who would you like to work with next? Any female artists? Perhaps a duo?

"I'm really loving Hindi Zahra, Corinne Bailey Rae's new album, Stacy Epps, Esperanza Spalding, and the new Sade. Lots of women. Andreya Triana's new album coming soon. I love the pairing of a great male and female voice, like Marvin and Tammi. Classic."

Anything else you would like to add? What are your plans for the future, lots of touring by the looks of things?

"Yeah, we're kicking the year off with Japan which is amazing. I'm looking forward to bringing the live show to Europe this spring and playing all the great festivals, seeing what's new and seeing my friends. It's a great opportunity to spread love through music - I'm very grateful."



Tune: Made For Love

http://www.myspace.com/josejamesquartet

Words: Martina Randles

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