James Pat Metheny

22-year old Houston-born NYC-based pianist and composer James Francies makes his debut with Flight, an album that presents a bold new vision from one of the brightest young stars in Jazz. Francies, who frequently sits in with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, has already performed with a wide array of artists including Chris Potter, Pat Metheny, Stefon Harris, José James, Ms. Lauryn Hill & Nas. He brings that broad range of influences to this set featuring special appearances by saxophonist Chris Potter and vocalists YEBBA, Chris Turner & Kate Kelsey-Sugg, along with a cast of Jazz youngbloods including vibraphonist Joel Ross, guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Burniss Travis II, and drummers Jeremy Dutton and Mike Mitchell.

I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where such great artists as James Moody, Sarah Vaughan, Walter Davis Jr., Hank Mobley were my neighbors and Wayne Shorter was my dear friend. Wayne and I went to grammar school and Arts High School together. I was very influenced by Wayne in every way and knew at young age that he was a genius. But I could not tolerate the cold winters, so I decided to move to Los Angeles. It was 1960. In 1961, I received a call from Jules Chaikin, a young contractor that I worked for, who knew my playing and asked if I wanted to go on the road with Stan Kenton. I was overwhelmed since this was one of the bands I dreamed of playing with. Nine months later we ended the tour at Capitol Records. I recorded three albums with the band, including “Adventures in Jazz” which won a Grammy for Stan and “Adventures in Blues” which Stan said was my album since it featured the bass walking predominantly through the whole album.

This record is an unexpected treat. Bob James has had a lucrative career writing and playing crossover jazz/pop. Although he had actually started his career with a straight-ahead trio date for Mercury in 1962 and also led a bizarre avant-garde session for ESP in 1965, his career since 1974 has offered very little of interest to consumers who prefer to hear inventive jazz as opposed to pleasant background music. But for this session, James returned to the roots few knew he had. Playing in an acoustic trio with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, James contributes five straightforward originals in addition to the standard "Lost April," and interprets tunes by Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays, Horace Silver ("The Jody Grind"), and Denny Zeitlin. While not hinting at all at his usual pop material, James plays quite well, takes plenty of chances, and sounds influenced a bit by Bill Evans. With McBride and Blade contributing consistently stimulating interplay, Bob James has recorded what is certainly the finest jazz album of his career.