Bob James

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦-𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝟐𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 & 𝟏𝟗𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐎𝐁 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 and his Acclaimed Quartet perform at The Jazz & Blues Market on 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 & 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑 𝐚𝐭 𝟕:𝟑𝟎 𝐏.𝐌. "𝐵𝑜𝑏 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑗𝑎𝑧𝑧, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑡,” 𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝐽𝐴𝑍𝑍 𝑇𝐼𝑀𝐸𝑆 (2022 𝐴𝑙𝑏𝑢𝑚 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 ‘𝐵𝑜𝑏 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑜: 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑒!’).

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅-’70𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔’ 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆; 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐, 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒎𝒔…𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆𝒔…”
— 𝑫𝑶𝑾𝑵𝑩𝑬𝑨𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑨𝒁𝑰𝑵𝑬 (2022 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒇 ‘𝑩𝒐𝒃 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒐: 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆!’)

“𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 "𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒂," 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑻𝒂𝒙𝒊. 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕, 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚-𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
— 𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑩𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑱𝑨𝒁𝒁 (2018 𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘)

“𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔' 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎.”
— 𝑨𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑩𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑱𝑨𝒁𝒁 (2013 𝑨𝒍𝒃𝒖𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒇 ‘𝑸𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆’ 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏)

"[𝑩𝒐𝒃 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔] 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒛𝒛…"
— 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑮𝑼𝑨𝑹𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑵

“𝑯𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒂𝒛𝒛…”
— 𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝒀𝑶𝑹𝑲 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬𝑺

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦-𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝟐𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 & 𝟏 𝟗𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐎𝐁 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒’ 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧. From his first days in Marshall, Missouri, James’ music 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. 60+ 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 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 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 Selling album, 'Touchdown', which included his composition, “Angela”, the instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, and possibly James’ best known work. Bob composed all the original music used in that television series for its entire run.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬’ 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦, '𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐞', 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐊𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐰𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 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. In 1985, James moved to Warner Bros Records, and kicked things off with 'Double Vision', a collaboration with David Sanborn. 'Double Vision' was another GRAMMY® Award-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, entitled 'Fourplay'. It sold over a million copies and remained at the #1 position on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart for 33 weeks. Their next album, 'Between the Sheets' (1993), reached #1, went Gold, and received a GRAMMY® Award Nomination. In 1995, their third gold album, 'Elixir', also reached the #1 position and remained on the chart for more than 90 weeks. The Group would collaborate until 1998 when Ritenour left the group, and Larry Carlton took over. This version of Fourplay continued the group’s huge success with 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.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐊𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐡, ('𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥' 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 Kirk Whalum ('𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐩' 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟔). Both albums were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards. His solo career continued throughout the 90’s, culminating with 'Joy Ride' in 1999, garnering him another GRAMMY® Award Nomination.

𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟏, '𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫', 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬’ 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. The album includes performances with Keiko Matsui, Joe Sample, Dave Holland, and Chuck Loeb. Fourplay released 'Heartfelt' in 2002, and spent much of the year touring across the globe. That same year, James released 'Morning, Noon, & Night', whose title track went to #1 on Contemporary Jazz Radio.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 '𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨' 𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟕, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝" 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. Summer saw the release of Fourplay’s tenth record, appropriately called 'X'. This tour literally took James around the world again with stops in Spain, London, California, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, and Indonesia.

𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟖, 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 '𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲'. 'Energy' featured GRAMMY® Award-Winner Esperanza Spalding, and another GRAMMY® Award Nomination with the first single, “Fortune Teller”.

𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝,' 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐲', 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫. This premiered new orchestral pieces arranged specifically for this concert and was Fourplay’s first performance with a symphony orchestra. Fourplay was voted "Best Group of the Year" at the American Smooth Jazz Awards to wrap up a busy 2010.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟏, '𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫 & 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐚', 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫-𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐞𝐢𝐤𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐢, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝. Their unique collaboration, which took nearly 10 years, resulted in several memorable live tour performances, before being completed as a recorded album, along with a live performance DVD recorded at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. Later that same year, James released a collaboration with Savannah guitarist Howard Paul with 'Just Friends: The Hamilton Hall Sessions'. All this, while still touring with Fourplay, including headlining the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, and receiving the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Award for "Group of the Year".

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 '𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫'. The album hit the charts, producing several successful tracks, including the powerful “Put Our Hearts Together”, which featured vocals by Seiko Matsuda. The song was a tribute to the regions of Japan devastated by the natural disasters just months earlier, and spawned several benefit concerts, such as the Iwate Jazz Festival, and a full-length documentary of James’ visit to the region.

𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑, '𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞' 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐱𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦, '𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧', 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨. In 2015, James’ first live album was released, 'Live at the Milliken Auditorium', which was captured on a magical night in his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan. This same year also brought the first release from James and longtime collaborator Nathan East, 'The New Cool', a masterful work of art which truly redefines the essence of cool.

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩’𝐬 𝟐𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 '𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫', 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 𝟐𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫. In 2022, the Bob James Trio released ‘Feel Like Making Live!” to rave reviews!

𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐳 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐦 ‘𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐬’, a piano and saxophone only collection of fresh originals and colorful re-imaginings of Great American Songbook standards. Their mini tour for the release led to a performance at the GRAMMY Museum® in Los Angeles, in which JAZZ WEEKLY noted, “The most impressive parts was the inspired playing by James, who at 85 played like he’s imbibed from the Fountain of Youth, while Koz’s strong and melodic tone revealed an aspect of his playing unable to be captured in a group setting. A rare evening of artists filling a rich canvas.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬:
Bob James - piano
Andrey Chmut - saxophone
Michael Palazzolo - bass
James Adkins - drums

𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦-𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝟐𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 & 𝟏𝟗𝐱-𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐘® 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐎𝐁 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 at The Jazz & Blues Market on 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑 𝐚𝐭 𝟕:𝟑𝟎 𝐏.𝐌. are NOW On-Sale on Ticketmaster, Facebook Events at: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AhPz4xQF9/ and The Jazz & Blues Market Website at: https://jazzandbluesmarket.com/event/bob-james-2/

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐭: https://www.instagram.com/thejazzmarket/?hl=en

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 & 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 & 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭: https://jazzandbluesmarket.com/events/ - 𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑰𝑵𝑮 2025 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑾𝑺 𝑶𝑵-𝑺𝑨𝑳𝑬 𝑵𝑶𝑾!!

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧-𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 & 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 by emailing aW5mbyB8IGphenphbmRibHVlc21hcmtldCAhIGNvbQ== to stay informed on Upcoming Shows, New Artist Announcements, Promotional Offers, Ticket On-Sale Dates, Special Performances and much more!! Thank you!!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 & 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 allowing for advanced purchasing of tickets can be found on our website - https://jazzandbluesmarket.com/contact-us/?reason=Memberships

𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒, 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 & 𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒
The Jazz & Blues Market offers a rare and spectacular venue to host important corporate functions, weddings, intimate or large-scale social gatherings, private parties, and memorable celebrations!! If interested, please email: ZXZlbnRzIHwgamF6emFuZGJsdWVzbWFya2V0ICEgY29t or fill out The Jazz & Blues Market Event Request Form at: https://jazzandbluesmarket.com/contact-us/?reason=Private%20Events

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