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Bob James

The career of Bob James is long, varied and continues to evolve at every turn. From his first days in Marshall, Missouri, the music of Bob James has captivated audiences throughout the world.

Discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963, James recorded his first solo album, Bold Conceptions, that year for Mercury Records. 58 albums and innumerable awards would follow through five decades. He honed his skills working with Creed Taylor, working on albums for artists like Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr, among others. While with CTI, James found great popular success overseeing significant hits for Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson, and Kenny Loggins.

In 1974, James finally recorded his own album, One, which launched a lifelong career of recording and performing live. After three more albums, James began his own label, Tappan Zee Records. This allowed James to spend more time in the studio, focusing on his own creative works. It was during this time that he recorded his own gold seller, Touchdown, which included his composition, “Angela”, the instrumental theme from the sitcom ‘Taxi’, and possibly James’ best know work. Bob composed all the original music used in that television series for its entire run. One On One, the first in three collaborations with Earl Klugh, was awarded a Grammy in 1980 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and has sold over a million copies. During this time, James set the standard for the smooth jazz sound in the late 1970s.

A different aspect of the musical talent of Bob James was demonstrated on his three classical albums recorded for the CBS Masterworks division, the first of which was Rameau released in 1984, and followed by ‘The Scarlatti Dialogues’ & Bach keyboard concertos with the Pekinel Sisters.

In 1985 James moved to Warner Bros Records, and kicked things off with Double Vision, a collaboration with David Sanborn, and produced by Tommy LiPuma. Double Vision was another Grammy winner, selling over a million albums.

While recording his album, Grand Piano Canyon, in 1990, James reunited with longtime friend, drummer Harvey Mason, Jr. It would also be the first time James would work with guitarist Lee Ritenour, and bassist Nathan East. This would be the start of something beautiful, as these early sessions ignited a spark which would engulf the Jazz world as Fourplay. Fourplay’s first album was recorded and released in 1991. The Group would collaborate on a total of three albums, until 1998 when Ritenour left the group, and Larry Carlton took over. This version of Fourplay continued the group’s huge success for seven more albums. After 12 years, Carlton decided to delve further into his solo career, and the band brought in guitarist Chuck Loeb in 2010.

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Liner Notes

Eric Gale: Forecast

Read "Eric Gale: Forecast" reviewed by Arnaldo DeSouteiro


Eric Gale (born on September 20, 1938, of Barbadian parents, in Brooklyn, NY) recorded over 500 albums as sideman, backing such stars as Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Dianna Ross, Paul Simon, Lena Horne, Michel Legrand, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, Milton Nascimento, Billy Joel, Gato Barbieri and Mongo Santamaria, to name a few. Gale's association with Creed Taylor began when the celebrated producer was working at Verve Records. ...

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Liner Notes

CTI Acid Jazz Grooves by Various Artists

Read "CTI Acid Jazz Grooves by Various Artists" reviewed by Arnaldo DeSouteiro


The CD you are holding in your hands is a very special compilation. It's the celebration of CTI as one of the most “sampled" labels on Earth! For the past ten years, many CTI tracks have been cut up, sampled, scratched and looped to create new songs for a new audience. Many of the selections on this album (all of them produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder) represented the basic inspiration and major influence in the ...

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Album Review

Bob James: Jazz Hands

Read "Jazz Hands" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Let us groove into a H.G. Wells mode and ride a time machine back to 1979 and revisit One On One (Tappan Zee), pianist Bob James' collaboration with guitarist Earl Klugh. The disc won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. It was a polished production, full of catchy rhythms and bright, memorable melodies--music that was as widely engaging as it could be. Now turn that time machine's dial to fast forward and revisit 1990's Grand Piano Canyon (Warner ...

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Live Review

Double Vision Revisited at SFJAZZ

Read "Double Vision Revisited at SFJAZZ" reviewed by Walter Atkins


Bob James, David Sanborn and Marcus Miller SFJAZZ, Miner Auditorium Double Vision Revisited Tour San Francisco, CA January 14, 2022 SFJAZZ celebrated the 35th anniversary release of the seminal album Double Vision (Warner Brothers 1986), by Bob James, David Sanborn and Marcus Miller. The group performed the popular 1987 Grammy-winning album with a few pleasant surprises for a receptive audience in the comfortable Miner Auditorium. In keeping with the times, SFJAZZ installed a new ...

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Album Review

Bob James Trio: Feel Like Making Live!

Read "Feel Like Making Live!" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Bob James--keyboardist, pianist, composer and arranger--opens Feel Like Making Live! with his original tune, “Angela (Theme From 'Taxi')." Everyone has heard it--that is what exposure from a popular television show can do. That series ran from 1978 to 1983. Taxi music, along with his albums on Creed Taylor's CTI Records during this time, in addition to his taking on arranging chores for the label, for the likes of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. and more, ...

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Album Review

Bob James: Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions

Read "Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Most people have heard the music of Bob James. He wrote “Angela," the theme song for the popular television comedy Taxi. The show ran from 1978 to 1983, and reruns are ongoing. The Bob James became one of the fathers and most successful purveyors of the smooth/fusion jazz sound, in recordings under his own name, with the group Foreplay and in teamings with saxophonist David Sanborn. Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions takes ...

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SoCal Jazz

Bob James, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller: The Lost Tour

Read "Bob James, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller: The Lost Tour" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Backing a new record with a live tour is, of course, standard practice. So, a tour in support of Double Vision (Warner Brothers, 1986) would be nothing out of the ordinary. The Bob James and David Sanborn classic, that also features Marcus Miller and Steve Gadd, proved to be visionary in its scope and profound in its significance. So much so, that it won a Grammy for Best Improvisational Jazz Album in 1986. The tour seems like it was only ...

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Music Industry

Christian De Mesones Releases ‘Hispanica (Instrumental)’ Featuring Bob James

Christian De Mesones Releases ‘Hispanica (Instrumental)’ Featuring Bob James

Source: Christian de Mesones

“Hispanica (instrumental)”, the new single from bassist, composer and band leader Christian de Mesones, is now available for streaming and purchase on all major music platforms and on the artist’s website. de Mesones’ latest creation is a vibrant, soulful, Latin-flavored contemporary jazz gem that prominently features legendary jazz pianist Bob James, who appears courtesy of Tappan Zee Records. It is the instrumental re-imagining of a track from de Mesones’ debut solo project, “They Call Me Big New York”, which contained ...

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Performance / Tour

Double Vision Revisited Comes To Cleveland August 17th Featuring Bob James, David Sanborn, And Marcus Miller

Double Vision Revisited Comes To Cleveland  August 17th Featuring Bob James, David Sanborn, And Marcus Miller

Source: C. Andrew Hovan

On August 17th, Live Nation presents Double Vision Revisited at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium (14100 Franklin Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio). The 8 p.m. performance will feature Bob James, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller. A jazz legend, Bob James has a career that has defined the genre and continues to evolve at every turn. David Sanborn is universally known as one of the most iconic saxophonists of the current age. Marcus Miller’s characteristic bass sound can be heard on a limitless catalog ...

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Event

Legendary Jazz Artist Bob James To Play Three-night Stand In Cleveland At Nighttown

Legendary Jazz Artist Bob James To Play Three-night Stand In Cleveland At Nighttown

Source: C. Andrew Hovan

Legendary contemporary jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Bob James and his trio featuring bassist Michael Palazzalo and drummer Billy Kilson are set to perform June 22 and 23 at Nighttown in jny: Cleveland. Sets will be at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and tickets are $40. On Sunday June 24, James will be featured with an Ohio band including Kevin DiSimone on keyboards, Wilbur Krebs on bass and Ike Wiley on drums. In addition, his daughter Hilary James will join ...

Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: David Sanborn and Bob James Team up Again for Quartette Humaine

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: David Sanborn and Bob James Team up Again for Quartette Humaine

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

With a paucity of touring jazz musicians coming to St. Louis for the next couple of weeks, and thus no upcoming shows to preview in this space, this seems like an opportune time to take a closer look at Quartette Humaine, the latest album from saxophonist and St. Louis native David Sanborn. The collaborative effort with keyboardist Bob James (who grew up in the northwest Missouri town of Marshall) is the first time the two have recorded together since their ...

Recording

Bob James and David Sanborn Pay Tribute to Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond on New Album, "Quartette Humaine", Available May 21 on Okeh

Bob James and David Sanborn Pay Tribute to Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond on New Album, "Quartette Humaine", Available May 21 on Okeh

Source: DL Media

OKeh will release keyboardist-composer-arranger Bob James and alto saxophonist David Sanborn‘s new album, Quartette Humaine, on May 21, 2013. The project is the first collaboration between the two musicians since their 1986 Platinum-selling, GRAMMY® Award-winning album, Double Vision. An all-acoustic quartet offering, Quartette Humaine pays tribute to the late iconic pianist-composer Dave Brubeck, putting a prime spotlight on his work that featured alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. “David and I realized long ago that Double Vision had become more successful than ...

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Recording

Bob James and Howard Paul "Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Sessions 2011"

Bob James and Howard Paul "Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Sessions 2011"

Source: Sound Insights by Doug Payne

This surprising stroll through the Great American Songbook comes courtesy of pianist and two-time Grammy award winner Bob James and seven-string guitarist Howard Paul. Recorded in early 2011 at Hamilton Hall, overlooking the Savannah River, in Savannah, Georgia, this acoustic pairing of two kindred spirits revels in its warm and engaging format and reveals a mutual love for great melodies and beneficially interactive creativity. What will surprise many is that the pianist, an avatar of '70s fusion and one of ...

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Recording

Jack Lee/Bob James "Botero"

Jack Lee/Bob James "Botero"

Source: Sound Insights by Doug Payne

The evolution of pianist/composer Bob James from accompanist/arranger and producer/label owner to successful solo artist and popular bandleader has been fascinating. His music has changed quite a bit during this period too, running the gauntlet of genres and generations. Indeed, fans of Bob James' group Fourplay are unlikely to know or appreciate his great Tappan Zee records of the late 1970s and early eighties and, likewise, anyone who digs the fabled “Nautilus" sample is not likely to find much to ...

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Festival

Tanglewood Jazz Festival Features Kurt Elling, John Pizzarelli, Bob James on September 4-5

Tanglewood Jazz Festival Features Kurt Elling, John Pizzarelli, Bob James on September 4-5

Source: MassJazz: Jazz in Massachusetts

This year's Tanglewood Jazz Festival in Lenox Massachusetts features jazz vocalist of the year Kurt Elling, guitar master John Pizzarelli, pianist Bob James and many more great jazz artists. The concerts take place on September 4-5 over Labor Day Weekend at Seiji Ozawa Hall on the hallowed grounds of Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a popular venue for a wide variety internationally renowned classical, jazz and popular music. Tickets range from $18 to $77 and ...

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Recording

New Album "Ataraxis": Deeyah Featuring Bob James, Andy Summers and Nils Petter Molvaer

New Album "Ataraxis": Deeyah Featuring Bob James, Andy Summers and Nils Petter Molvaer

Source: All About Jazz

Along with special guest musicians Bob James, Andy Summers and Nils Petter Molvaer Deeyah creates an exciting and eclectic new album Ataraxis. Deeyah explores her musical roots and beginnings on the brand new album titled Ataraxis. Having already worked with such maestros and musical greats in her career as Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan, Knut Reiersrud, Nazim Ali Khan, Jan Garbarek, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Audun Erlien, Talvin Singh, Attaullah Esa Khelvi, Morten Harket, AR ...

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Recording

Pianist Mike Catalano gets Will Lee, Bob James, Chuck Loeb, Ivan Lins and more on his debut CD, "A Manhattan Affair"

Pianist Mike Catalano gets Will Lee, Bob James, Chuck Loeb, Ivan Lins and more on his debut CD, "A Manhattan Affair"

Source: Michael Ricci

Pianist Mike Catalano teams up friends and favorite talents to make this dream come true. Beginning with his co-producer Will Lee, veteran bassist, vocalist, producer (Oh, The Fab Faux, Late show with David Letterman,), and arranger Rob Mounsey (Dave Koz At the Movies, Aaron Neville, Natalie Cole, Ivan Lins, Michael Franks, Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Flying Monkey) and rounded up a virtual who's who of the contemporary jazz and jazz industry as guests and musicians Ivan Lins, Bob ...

Phil Traynor
bass, electric
Journeys
band / ensemble / orchestra
Under The Lake
keyboards
Jayson Tipp
keyboards
J.Cordes
guitar, acoustic
Jacques Bailhé
keyboards
Jabu Nkosi
keyboards
Yulia
piano
Ali Hugo
keyboards

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jazz Hands

Evosounds
2024

buy

Mystical

Self Produced
2024

buy

Feel Like Making Live!

Evolution Music Group
2022

buy

Hope for Tomorrow...

Innervision Records
2021

buy

Lookin' Up

Innervision Records
2021

buy

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