SIMULBLOGGED AT RIPEYAMS.COM
Jazz is one of those idioms that doesn’t come easily to everyone. I’m not a Jazz head by any means, but I’ve certainly come around to a little bit of equanimity in my appreciation for Jazz. Where once the ambling solos, indirect melodic focus, rambling uneven tonal patterns and blue note syncopation, drove me up the wall, I’ve found a certain satisfaction with the music through learning its vocabulary and history. One of the things that can be said unequivocally for Jazz vocalists is that she must have an unflinching command of her instrument; its timbre, its range and its pitch must be mastered. Otherwise audiences are unable to transcend the lyrics. When I pump Ella, Sarah Vaughan or Jon Hendricks on my stereo, I try and train myself to hear the voice as if it were just another horn stepping out from the big band. This could be why José James is such a joy for me to listen to - he plays his voice like a horn. New York City, and the history of Jazz born there, shape James’ first release for world-acclaimed DJ Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label. The Dreamer is the title track and easily my favorite. Another standout from James’ album is Spirits Up Above, reworked here by Simbad. José James performs for FREE at 5PM on Tuesday, July 8th at The Providence Black Repertory Company as part of Sound Session 08. Tickets for all performances on sale now at Arttixri.com

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 8:06 am and is filed under Concerts, Downtown, Music, Nightlife, Sound Session. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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