Tickets released 16 June
José James has been called a jazz artist for the hip-hop generation, and there is hardly a more fitting description for the 45-year-old singer who shares his hometown of Duluth with Bob Dylan. However, James’ graceful and warm baritone is as far from Dylan as Sinatra is from Sting. James’ sound blurs the lines between jazz, soul, funk, house and R&B. Expect a warming November evening at Fasching with this brilliant artist who this evening pays tribute to the singer and icon Erykah Badu.
With John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and Billie Holiday as primary influences, his early singles made the listener think of 70s soul jazz and icons such as Terry Callier and Gil Scott-Heron. On the debut The Dreamer, James picked up material both from Rahsaan Roland Kirk and from the rappers Freestyle Fellowship. The album was praised for its blend of jazz, soul and pop and found its way onto Jazz Times’ Top 50 Best Albums of 2008 list.
José James has an unusual breadth which also shows in his various album collaborations. With pianist Jef Neve, he interprets the American songbook in the finest crooner style and with trumpeter Takuya Kuroda as wind arranger in the soul-licking Bill Withers tribute Lean on Me.
“Sounds like the result of the black-pop continuum, jazz and soul and hip-hop and R&B, slow-cooked for more than 50 years.” —The New York Times
