Jose James

I'm very happy to say that I've just been lucky enough to secure Jose James tickets for his stop-over in London for April 2013 in XOYO.  Although I've seen him perform twice at the Jazz Cafe and once with McCoy Tarner at the Barbican, I'm still reeling from having missed out on him sharing the bill with The Robert Glasper Experiment at this year's iTunes Festival. 

How's this for an epic concert fail - after having been unsuccessful with the luck-of-the-draw lottery that's normally involved in securing iTunes Festival tickets, my buddy Phil calls me on the morning of the concert and says "I know a guy, who knows a girl, who's heard of a guy that can get us in - all we have to do is mention his name on the door".  It used to be the kind of night out I'd always be up for: trecking across London, standing outside in the rain for two hours just to be laughed at at the door sounded great a few years ago, but now, married, 1 year old baby and a house full of family expected that night, I decided to do the mature, family thing and stay at home.

Imagine my disappointment when Phil texts at 8:30 saying "I'm in!".

Pastures new and all that so roll on April 2013!!

If you don’t know who Jose James is, then I honestly believe that’s something that’s about to change fairly early in 2013.  Actually, if you don’t know who Jose James is, then you clearly don’t listen to The Blue-in-Green Sessions as much as you should :)

In anticipation of the release of his fourth album, which also acts as his debut on the prestigious Blue Note Records, an EP to whet your appetite was released in October.  Comprising of six new songs, 'It's All Over Your Body', offers huge promises that this album could very well be James’ breakthrough record and will serve to establish the continuing legacy of one of the brightest stars of his generation.  It’s a bold and fairly clichéd statement but not one I make lightly – I’ve been a frantic flag-waving supporter since ‘The Dreamer’ and I can’t think of an artist who displays more versatility and dedication, and one more deserving of the rewards than James.  Amongst the EP’s highlights are an acoustic version of ‘Come To My Door’ (performed with Emily King) and a DJ Spinna remix of 'It's All Over Your Body', which ranks among some of Spinna’s best… and that’s another bold statement I stand beside!

A quick update on the new album (currently titled, 'No Beginning No End') reports contributions from an A* list of musicians, featuring a line-up including Robert Glasper, Chris Dave, Pino Palladino, Hindi Zahra, Emily King and Amp Fiddler, naming just a few!

Not long to go now until the album's January release so as a treat of its anticipation, I've dug through the old Liberation Frequency archives as I promised I would and following this post is an interview I did with from 2009 (several months before his second album release, 'Black Magic').