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Smooth jazz pioneer Bob James joins super-group at the Birchmere Date published: 12/17/2009
BY ZACK SMITH FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR If you have not heard of Bob James, it is still quite likely you have heard his music. The Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist will be arriving at the Birchmere this Saturday with the supergoup Fourplay for a sold-out night of holiday music and some smooth jazz. Though he began his career in the 1960s, it was in the '70s that James rose to the heights of jazz fusion fame. "Angela" is probably his best-known song, though most people know it as the theme to "Taxi"--a comedy that introduced the world to Danny DeVito and Andy Kaufman among others. The album it was on, "Touchdown," went gold, and then things got interesting. "That was a great time in my life, a real turning point for me," said James, speaking from his snowbound home near Traverse City, Mich. "It was shortly after I had left CTI Records, and it was a pretty good time for the tail end of the LP era and the beginning of the CD era." The music he produced started to find its way into a new radio format, and eventually James became known as a "smooth jazz" artist. "This phenomenon of smooth jazz was thrust upon us by radio and a lot of other things. They cherry-picked our records and our music--some of us anyway--picked out smooth stuff because it fit their format on the radio. Out of that has grown a genre where some of the artists are indeed "smooth jazz" artists, and they actually think about that when they are creating the music. I don't." Evidence of this is clear on Fourplay's most recent CD, the Grammy-nominated "Energy." Music on the recording blends R&B, pop, jazz, African rhythms and more. A strong Quincy Jones influence is felt on bassist Nathan East's "The Whistler," while the composition "Cape Town" has a vintage "quiet storm" quality. There is even a nod to Johann Sebastian Bach in "Sebastian," which is based on a chord progression James took from the great Baroque composer. Guitarist Larry Carlton and drummer Harvey Mason shine on the album as well.
Date published: 12/17/2009
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