James Fox

Art historian Dr James Fox makes the case for a singularly British renaissance, telling the stories of the artists and artisans who changed Britain forever. Italians do it better: when Venice and Florence, Leonardo and Raphael led the Renaissance, shouldn't our murky backwater of an island at the far edge of Europe just accept its place in the cultural shadows? Not if art historian Dr James Fox has anything to do with it. In this edifying journey into Britain's cultural flowering, James is telling anecdotes and tales of the strange and wonderful immigrants who seeded the Renaissance.

Art historian Dr James Fox makes the case for a singularly British renaissance, telling the stories of the artists and artisans who changed Britain forever. Italians do it better: when Venice and Florence, Leonardo and Raphael led the Renaissance, shouldn't our murky backwater of an island at the far edge of Europe just accept its place in the cultural shadows? Not if art historian Dr James Fox has anything to do with it. In this edifying journey into Britain's cultural flowering, James is telling anecdotes and tales of the strange and wonderful immigrants who seeded the Renaissance.

Kairos Ensemble (not to be confused with another UK four piece, Kairos 4tet) came together in 2001. Rejoicing Blues is the ensemble's fifth album and features tunes from the band's live sets that have not previously been recorded. There is, indeed, much here that is worth rejoicing.

Art historian Dr James Fox traces the momentous impact of the west's contact with the peoples and cultures of the Pacific. It is a story of exploration, encounter and exploitation.

With the emergence of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience during the late '60s, the path was cleared for other hard-rockin' "trios." Arguably, the finest to emerge from the subsequent American crop was the James Gang. Despite penning a few of classic rock radio's most enduring songs, the James Gang ultimately failed to deliver on their initial promise, as constant lineup juggling ultimately derailed the group. The Gang's roots stretch back to 1966 in Cleveland, OH, where drummer Jim Fox formed the group with a few fellow Kent State University students, guitarist Glenn Schwartz and bassist Tom Kriss. But when Schwartz left to join Pacific Gas & Electric, Fox and Kriss opted to carry on with new singer/guitarist Joe Walsh. The James Gang's debut album, Yer' Album, followed in 1969, and while it didn't spawn any hits, it did set the stage perfectly for their next few releases.

The James Gang Rides Again set the stage for the group's third album to propel them to Top Ten, headliner status, but that didn't happen. The band was on its last legs, rent by dissension as Walsh became the focus of attention, and the appropriately titled Thirds reflected the conflict. Among the nine original songs, four were contributed by Walsh, two each by bass player Dale Peters and drummer Jim Fox, and one was a group composition. But it was Walsh's songs that stood out. His "Walk Away," was the first single, and it climbed into the Top 40 in at least one national chart, the group's only 45 to do that well.

Transatlantic Swing is a CD of music rich in elusive connections. Some of the music is ‘transatlantic’ because it’s music by Europeans influenced by the Americas, some because it’s music by an American played by a European. In some way all the music ‘swings’, but no two pieces swing in the same way.There’s also a network of friendships between the composers represented here, although together they don’t represent any one tendency in contemporary musical aesthetics. And there’s a network of shared preoccupations in the music here – the balance between process and fantasy in musical form, the dynamics of sound and silence, the reconfiguration of popular music – but not all these preoccupations occur in every piece.