jose james - jazz '08

here's the thing about jazz - jazz is complicated.

i mean that it's inextricably tied to time, place and people in our minds -
think rare recordings in crowded smokey bars
think bird, miles, coltraine, chet, herbie, dizzy, monk...
think blues, swing, bebop,
basically, think back -

but jose james thinks back and brings it forward in a way that blasts most other styles of contemporary jazz - you know the kind that wafts around waiting rooms and elevators?

well, the fella strolled on stage in a white t shirt, jeans and a NY baseball cap, grabbed the mic and...
it was clear that scatting is the archetype freestyle and
lyrical content added the here-and-now to the way-back-then sounds of the jazz quartet and
his hands moved like an emcee in a cipher...
and it was authentic and live and now and then - wicked.

respect to jose james; let's hope ears out there are attuned to his oldnewthennow style... he proves that we can make current what we revere and speak about with nostalgia... we can bring forward our musical roots, hug them tight and cloak them in today... lest we forget; then where will we go?