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!
Bob James and Keiko Matsui's Altair & Vega is a solo piano album performed by a duo, and for the most part, that means what it sounds like, two jazz pianists seated together at one keyboard playing four-handed parts. On the James-composed title track (which refers to two stars that pass each other only once a year), previously recorded and released on the 2001 James album Dancing on the Water, Matsui takes the upper part of the piano and James the lower part in a piece that sounds more new age than jazz.
Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a newly re-mastered, re-mixed and expanded 3 disc clamshell box edition of the classic album, “Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories”. Recorded and released in 1971, the album was the third by BJH and was recorded at Abbey Road studios and was co-produced by the band and ex-Pretty Things member Wally Allen. Widely regarded (along with “Once Again”) as one of the band’s early masterpieces, “…Other Short Stories” featured such classic tracks as ‘Medicine Man’, ‘Ursula (The Swansea Song)’, ‘The Poet’ and the epic ‘After the Day’. The album was critically acclaimed upon its release by Harvest Records and was also issued by Sire Records in the United States with some remixed versions of tracks. The album also featured the Barclay James Harvest symphony orchestra conducted by Martyn Ford and arrangements by Toni Cooke and Martyn Ford.
The relationship between Alex Harding and Lucian Ban has been long and fruitful. Their combination of elements of improvisational music have helped the pair develop a unique musical language that transcends the expectations of the jazz genre. Their new recording, Blutopia, highlights their attuned rapport while allowing their music to unfold with their own singular ensemble, propelled by the tuba stylings of the great Bob Stewart.
Tommy James (born Thomas Gregory Jackson, 29 April 1947, Dayton, Ohio) is an American pop-rock musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as leader of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells. Tommy currently resides in Monroe, Wisconsin. In 1958, when Tommy was eleven, his family moved to Niles, Michigan. In 1959, when he was twelve, James formed his first band called Tom and the Tornadoes. In 1963, the band changed their name to The Shondells. By 1964, a local DJ at WNIL radio station in Niles formed his own record label, Snap Records. The Shondells were one of the local bands the DJ recorded at WNIL studios. One of the songs was the Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich ditty "Hanky Panky," which was recorded as The Raindrops. The song was a hit locally, but the label had no resources for national promotion and it was soon forgotten.
'Between the Sheets' is the second studio album of smooth jazz group Fourplay and was released in August 1993. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart and No. 15 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. 'Between the Sheets' sold over 500,000 copies in the United States and thus certified gold by the RIAA. 'Between the Sheets', the popular single, written by the Isley Brothers, features Fourplay members Bob James (piano), Lee Ritenour (guitar), Nathan East (lead vocals and bass) and Harvey Mason (drums) with guests, soul singer Chaka Khan on lead vocals, backed-up by Philip Bailey and Phil Perry. Sultry and smooth, oozing with class. Amoroso is a sprightly tune that features sparkling solos from James and Ritenour while East and Mason (composer) keep a lively groove simmering underneath. This continues to be a defining album for smooth Jazz genre and Fourplay.