James Francies Trio

Beginning piano lessons at age five, Francies performed in church and attended Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts — the same vaunted institution that produced the likes of Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, Eric Harland, Kendrick Scott, and Beyoncé.

Francies gained early experience in the band of drumming great Jeff “Tain” Watts, and at only 28, has already made major contributions to the work of Potter, Metheny, Marcus Strickland, Chance the Rapper, Stefon Harris, and Jaimeo Brown. He topped the DownBeat Critics Poll for Rising Star Keyboards in 2022 and has released a pair of albums as a leader beginning with his 2018 Blue Note debut Flight that JazzTimes enthused “signaled a fresh, contemporary, and potentially world-shaking vision for the next generation of jazz.”

Based around a core trio of bassist Burniss Travis and drummer Jeremy Dutton, Purest Form is an electro-acoustic expansion of his vision as a keyboardist and composer, with guest appearances by vibraphonist Joel Ross, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and guitarist Mike Moreno, among others.