JOSE JAMES

• Reduced mobility

Sings Badu “On & On”

José James has outgrown jazz. He has always said that the jazz scene is too conservative. That it’s like a straitjacket. That’s why he has always enjoyed crafting compositions that also draw on soul, hip-hop and the spoken word, although he does admit that John Coltrane and Billie Holiday are sacred. As are Marvin Gaye, Terry Callier and Gil Scott-Heron. Or even much more recent electronic music projects, such as Basement Jaxx or Jazzanova, with whom he has collaborated on some of his albums. You could say that what this American musician is all about is black roots music with a touch of groove and sensuality, without too many suffixes or prefixes. And Blue Note must think so too, because they have released his last five albums on their label and invited him to perform at their New York club for a whole week in the summer of 2022.