NOV 26-28 | Thanksgiving Week
Nov 27 - Nov 28, 2021
Miner Auditorium
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
This concert will be broadcast on FRI, DEC 24 as part of Fridays Live, available to all SFJAZZ Members.
Have yourself a soulful little Christmas with smooth-as-silk crooner José James, the crown prince of new-jack jazz. An R&B-steeped singer who’s as effective evoking Billie Holiday as Bill Withers, José James returns with his first holiday project that imbues classic songs of the season with the warmth of a roaring fireplace in winter, captured on his new album Merry Christmas From José James.
Working in collaboration with master bassist and arranger Ben Williams and surrounded by an array of brilliant players including James Farm pianist Aaron Parks, James opted for the immediacy of sharing the same space with his collaborators like a 1950s jazz session — together in a single room without isolation. He brings all that heat and light to an evening of songs inextricably linked to the holidays.
James and an all-star band bring heat and light to a U.S. premiere of songs inextricably linked to the holidays.
James deftly underlines jazz's flexibility in relation to new pop trends, the way Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis did in the past.
Pitchfork
James deftly underlines jazz's flexibility in relation to new pop trends, the way Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis did in the past.
Pitchfork
Personnel
Jose James vocals
Christian Sands piano, keyboards
Ben Williams bass
Jharis Yokley drums
Talia Billig vocals
Sultry one moment, commanding the next, he holistically heals the rift between radio-friendly songcraft and virtuoso flair.
NPR
Personnel
Jose James vocals
Christian Sands piano, keyboards
Ben Williams bass
Jharis Yokley drums
Talia Billig vocals
Sultry one moment, commanding the next, he holistically heals the rift between radio-friendly songcraft and virtuoso flair.
NPR
Watch & Listen
José James
My Favorite Things (feat. Marcus Strickland)
José James
Christmas in New York
José James
My Favorite Things (feat. Marcus Strickland)
José James
Christmas in New York
NOV 26-28 | Thanksgiving Week
NOV 26