José James facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
José James
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José James 2016 in Berlin, Germany
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| Background information | |
| Born | January 20, 1978 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, hip hop, neo soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, bandleader |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Labels | Brownswood, Blue Note, Rainbow Blonde |
José James (born January 20, 1978) is an American musician, singer, and composer. He is known for mixing modern jazz music with hip hop sounds. He also plays the guitar and sings with a deep, rich voice.
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About José James
José James has roots from Ireland and Panama. He studied music at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he released his first album, The Dreamer. This album became very popular after DJ Gilles Peterson signed him to his new record company, Brownswood Recordings.
Early Albums and Awards
His second album, Blackmagic, came out in 2009. The next year, he released For All We Know on the Impulse! label. This album won two big awards: the Edison Award and the Académie du Jazz Grand Prix. Both awards recognized it as the best Vocal Jazz Album of 2010.
Live Performances and Collaborations
José James has performed his music in many famous places around the world. These include The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Hollywood Bowl, and Billboard Live Tokyo. He has also performed with other well-known artists. Some of these include McCoy Tyner and Laura Mvula. He has also sung with big orchestras like the Melbourne Symphony.
Recent Music Projects
His latest project is called On & On - José James sings Badu. He performed this show on October 22, 2022. He was joined by his band of five talented young musicians. The performance took place at the Millennium Stage. This stage is part of The Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center is a very important place for music and plays in Washington, D.C..
Personal Life
José James is married to Talia Pnina Billig. She is known as Taali in the music world. Taali is also a singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has even been nominated for a Grammy Award.
Discography
José James has released many albums throughout his career. Here are some of his albums as the main artist:
Albums as Leader
- The Dreamer (Brownswood, 2008)
- Blackmagic (Brownswood, 2009)
- For All We Know with Jef Neve (impulse!, 2010)
- No Beginning No End (Blue Note, 2012)
- While You Were Sleeping (Blue Note, 2014)
- Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday (Blue Note, 2015)
- Love in a Time of Madness (Blue Note, 2017)
- Lean On Me (Blue Note, 2018)
- No Beginning No End 2 (Rainbow Blonde, 2020)
- José James: New York 2020 (Rainbow Blonde, 2021) – live recorded in 2020
- Merry Christmas from José James (Rainbow Blonde, 2021)
- On & On (Rainbow Blonde, 2023)
- 1978 (Rainbow Blonde, 2024)
Albums as Guest Artist
José James has also appeared as a guest singer on other artists' albums:
- Jazzanova, Little Bird (Verve Records, 2008)
- Kris Bowers, Heroes + Misfits (Concord Jazz, 2014)
- Junko Onishi, Very Special (Somethin' Cool, 2017)
- Taali, I Am Here (Rainbow Blonde, 2019)
- Erik Truffaz Quartet, Lune Rouge (Warner Music France, 2019)
See also
In Spanish: José James para niños
