José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American composer, baritone singer, guitar player and vocalist who combines contemporary

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Biography

José James, of Irish and Panamanian descent, attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, '' The Dreamer'', achieving much success after DJ Gilles Peterson signed him to his new independent label Brownswood Recordings.Jose James, Jef Neve Rekindle Jazz Flame
''Billboard''. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.José James – Music Biography, Credits and Discography
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

''. Retrieved on 2013-01-31. His second album ''Blackmagic'' followed in 2009. And in the following year, the album ''For All We Know'' came out on the Impulse! label. ''For All We Know'' became the winner of both the Edison Award and the Académie du Jazz Grand Prix for best Vocal Jazz Album of 2010. James has presented his work at venues such as The Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, Ancienne Belgique and Billboard Live Tokyo. He has performed as a guest artist with McCoy Tyner, Laura Mvula and the Jazz at Lincoln Center, Melbourne Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. His latest project is called ''On & On - José James sings Badu'', which was performed at Millennium stage on 22 October 2022 with his current band, composed of five young musicians. The Millennium stage is located at The Kennedy Center, which holds some of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

's most important musical performances and plays.

Personal life

José James is married to Talia Pnina Billig, known professionally as Taali, who is a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

–nominated singer, songwriter and record producer.

Discography

As leader

* '' The Dreamer'' ( Brownswood, 2007) * ''Blackmagic'' (Brownswood, 2009) * ''For All We Know'' with

Jef Neve Jef Neve (born 8 March 1977) is a Belgian jazz and Classical music, classical music pianist and composer. Life and career Neve was born in Turnhout, Belgium.Hope, Alan (22 July 2014"Face of Flanders: Jef Neve" Flanders Today. By the age of 14 he ...

( impulse!, 2010) * ''No Beginning No End'' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 2012) * ''While You Were Sleeping'' (Blue Note, 2014) * ''Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday'' (Blue Note, 2015) * ''Love in a Time of Madness'' (Blue Note, 2017) * ''Lean On Me'' (Blue Note, 2018) * ''No Beginning No End 2'' ( Rainbow Blonde, 2020) * ''José James: New York 2020'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2021) CD– live recorded in 2020 * ''Merry Christmas from José James'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2021) * ''On & On'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2023) * ''1978'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2024) * ''1978: Revenge of the Dragon'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2025)

As guest

Jazzanova Jazzanova is a German Berlin-based DJ/producer collective consisting of Alexander Barck, Claas Brieler, Jürgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, and Axel Reinemer. Formed in 1995, the group's music is characterized by nu j ...

, ''Little Bird'' (Verve Records, 2008) *

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

, ''

Scars SCARS or S.C.A.R.S. is an acronym that may refer to: * SCARS (military) (Special Combat Aggressive Reactionary System), an American combat fighting system * Severe cutaneous adverse reactions Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) are a gr ...

'' and ''

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional characters * Zephyr (comics), in the Marvel Comics univers ...

'' (

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

, 2009) *

Kris Bowers Kristopher Bowers (born April 5, 1989) is an American composer, pianist, and director. He has composed scores for films including '' Green Book'', '' King Richard'', '' The Color Purple'', and '' The Wild Robot'' and television series ''Bridgert ...

, ''Heroes + Misfits'' (Concord Jazz, 2014) * Junko Onishi, '' Very Special'' (Somethin' Cool, 2017) * Taali, ''I Am Here'' (Rainbow Blonde, 2019) *

Erik Truffaz Erik Truffaz (born 3 April 1960 in Chêne-Bougeries, Switzerland) is a French-Swiss jazz trumpeter, infusing elements of hip hop, rock and roll and dance music into his compositions. Early life Erik Truffaz grew up in France, in the Pays de G ...

Quartet, ''Lune Rouge'' (Warner Music France, 2019)

References

External links

* – official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jose 1978 births Living people American jazz singers Musicians from Minneapolis Blue Note Records artists Singers from Minnesota American hip-hop singers American neo soul singers Jazz musicians from Minnesota Brownswood Recordings artists South High School (Minnesota) alumni 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers