José James & Jef Neve - For All We Know

May 17, 2010
Posted by Musicman
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"This record is all about capturing the moment," José James says of For All We Know, his upcoming Impulse! release. The album, a collaboration between James and noted Belgian pianist Jef Neve, finds the charismatic young vocalist applying his warm, rich baritone to a sterling assortment of timeless jazz and pop standards. The result is an eloquently spare, effortlessly expressive set, with James' vivid performances and the intimate duo format lending new emotional depth to such beloved classics as "Tenderly," "Body and Soul," "Everyday I Have the Blues," Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and George and Ira Gershwin's "Embraceable You."

For All We Know is José James' first album for Impulse! Records, as well as his first U.S. release. But the Minneapolis-born, London-based singer is already a sensation in Britain, Europe and Japan. Since his arrival on the international scene in 2008, audiences and critics alike have embraced the artist's talent and versatility, with his first two albums (released on influential DJ/producer Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings label) winning James a reputation as both a rising star and a vital new creative force. All but one of For All We Know's ten songs were recorded in a single informal six-hour session at Galaxy Studios in Mol, Belgium. The project came together spontaneously, after James and Neve performed together on a Belgian television show and Neve filled in for James' regular pianist at a concert in Brussels. "It felt like we'd been playing together forever," José recalls. "I had the next day off, so I said 'Let's go in the studio and try to capture some of this vibe.' Jef booked this really nice studio, we let the tape roll, and that's the album. There was no producer, no overdubs, and most of the songs were first takes. "It wasn't anything that we thought was gonna turn into a big release," he continues. "It was just something that we thought was really cool. We just played the songs we love the way we felt them, with no constraints. Playing as a duo is very pure and honest; it's just you, the piano and silence."

As impressive as For All We Know is, it presents just one aspect of José James' musical portfolio, whose expansiveness and diversity belies the artist's tender age. The son of a jazz-saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist father from Panama, José first embraced jazz in his early teens. By the age of 17, he had emerged as both a budding performer and a serious student of jazz history and technique, performing around Minneapolis in a variety of lineups with an assortment of seasoned local jazz players. "I realized early on that I could connect with people through music," José recalls. "I wasn't thinking much about making it into a career; I was just caught up in the excitement of making music. I also realized that the vocal developments in jazz progressed with the instrumental developments, and that the instrumentalists' rhythmic and harmonic sophistication was absorbed and transmuted by the singers of the day. That really opened my eyes, and helped to give me a direction and a focus." José's musical development continued after a move to New York, where he attended the New School's prestigious jazz program, studying with instrumental legends Junior Mance and Chico Hamilton, both of whom subsequently invited him to perform on their recordings.

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José James & Jef Neve - For All We Know

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