Bob James

14 favorites compiled by Bob James from the Tappan Zee years. Making this collection even more special are Bob's own liner notes giving his personal insights into each of the recordings. The master of smooth jazz delivers his first audiophile release and AUDIO FIDELITY has it. Some of his favorites in the collection are Angela, Westchester Lady, Rush Hour, and Spunky.

The career of Bob James is long, varied and continues to evolve at every turn. From his first days in Marshall, Missouri, the music of Bob James has captivated audiences throughout the world.

In the eyes of the rap generation, an older musician's hipness is often defined by how many times he or she has been sampled for beats and breaks. That means that keyboard wizard Bob James - whose records have been sampled a staggering 1,435 times, according to the website WhoSampled - is a bona fide legend and cooler than cool…

Bob James, who for many years has gained fame and fortune for his commercial pop/jazz crossover sets, on this set returns to his roots in straight-ahead jazz. James is showcased in a trio with bassist James Genus and drummer Billy Kilson, paying tribute to some of his favorite pianists. James' interpretations of nine standards are not necessarily in the style of the pianists, but there are moments when he consciously quotes one of their phrases, including putting a phrase from "Mona Lisa" in "Straighten Up and Fly Right" for Nat King Cole. Along the way he also pays homage to Red Garland, Glenn Gould (the classical pianist liked "Downtown" ), Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner (his version of "Caravan" ), Mal Waldron, and John Lewis. It is to Bob James' credit that he still sounds so natural playing this bop-oriented music; this is one of the most rewarding playing dates of his recording career.

Bob James' recordings have practically defined pop/jazz and crossover during the past few decades. Very influenced by pop and movie music, James has often featured R&B-ish soloists (most notably Grover Washington, Jr.) who add a jazz touch to what is essentially an instrumental pop set. He actually started out in music going in a much different direction. In 1962, James recorded a bop-ish trio set for Mercury, and three years later …

An entry within Metro Doubles series, One, Two, Three & BJ4: The Legendary Albums is a two-CD set containing Bob James' first four albums, presented in chronological order. The set is a good way to pick up these four James' discs – not only is it a convenient, concise way to get the records, but they're presented well with good liner notes, including track-by-track commentary by Chris Ingham.

Botero might be the most significant album Bob James has made in quite some time. Jack Lee has a way of inspiring the pianist in a way that very few have outside of such guitarists as Eric Gale, Earl Klugh – who waxed three memorable albums with James, One on One (1979), Two of a Kind (1982) and Cool (1993) – and Lee Ritenour (heard on James’ Grand Piano Canyon and a co-founder of Fourplay on the quartet’s first three discs). Lee and James are accompanied here by American bassists Nathan East – like Bob James, a founding member of Fourplay – and Melvin Davis and Asian drummer Lewis Pragasam.

This CD holds a very special place in the heart of every true Bob James fan. This may be due in no small part to its sentimental value in relation to nostalgia. HEADS has an overtly sexual quality to it, as may be seen through it's titles (and the number five itself). Musically, it has much to offer. The title song features the interesting sound of the Oberheim polyphonic synth's "tinkle bells". The tour-de-force of the CD is his uptempo version of "We're All Alone", featuring pianist Richard Tee. Bob rides the disco wave in on his version of Peter Frampton's "I'm In You". Both this and the original version of "Nightcrawler" feature saxophonist David Sanborn. Grover Washington, Jr. adds his special touch on "You Are So Beautiful". HEADS closes with an adaptation of Baroque composer Henry Purcell's "One Loving Night", something which can only be skillfully done by arrangers such as Bob James and Don Sebesky. With HEADS, you win!