José James

7:15pm: Screening of Revenge of the Dragon Short Film
7:30pm: Concert Begins

José James, a singular artist with a foot in the soul of the 70s and one firmly planted in the here and now, makes a welcome reappearance on the Miner stage with music from his latest Rainbow Blonde album, 1978: Revenge of the Dragon, a continuation of his ongoing project honoring the music and attitude of the 1970s.

A suave velvet-smooth soul singer with smoldering charisma who’s equally at home crooning standards with McCoy Tyner or interpreting the songs of Erykah Badu, James is the preeminent jazz vocalist born of the hip-hop era. 

The follow-up to last year’s 1978, an album named for the year of James’s birth, 1978: Revenge of the Dragon takes the celebration of a pivotal decade even further than its predecessor into the explosive collection of elements that converged during that period, from sugary pop and the loft jazz scene to punk rock, greasy soul, funk, and the birth of hip-hop, filtered through the lens of kung fu cinema and Blaxploitation films. If 1978 captures some of the glitz of Studio 54 in its heyday, 1978: Revenge of the Dragon is a night at the Mudd Club, in all its gritty experimentation and loose vibe. 

Recorded live to tape in a single take, the album balances four originals with dance-inducing covers of era defining tracks by the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, and Herbie Hancock.  

This concert is co-presented with KALW.