JOSE JAMES: A JAZZ SAVIOR?
The sad truth is that jazz has been in a dead-end of sorts for at least thirty years….arguably the last new, viable development was fusion, following on the so-called “free jazz” movement, beginning in the late Sixties and through the Seventies led by such artists as Miles Davis, Larry Coryell, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchetra, Chick Corea etc. Most of the artists operating under “jazz” banner since that time—especially in the Eighties “young lions” resurgence led by Wynton Marsalis-- have largely been replicating or trying to replicate past glories. In short, music labeled as jazz"" since then has largely lacked excitement or inspiration or freshness—a sad state of affairs for one of the great genres of music in the world. This is not to say that nothing of value has been created during that time but simply that the general run of new jazz has generally failed to match the creative heights and performing flair of what was created in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.
So there has been a great hope among jazz fans or other music lovers who appreciate the genre that a new messiah would appear, a great musician who is a catalyst for something new and exciting. Much of this hope has been directed in the desire for a fusion of hip-hop and jazz. It is easy to see why so much hope would be placed in this direction. Such a fusion would open jazz—at least theoretically—to youth once again and possibly make it relevant as a contemporary genre. It would connect jazz once again to “the street”….harking back to a time when jazz was popular music, the dance music of a couple generations. And it would be the fusing of two profound (at least for the generation that came of age with hip-hop) elements of African-American culture—jazz and hip-hop, restoring jazz to its original African-American milieu. And so there have been a number of attempts at jazz-hip-hop fusion whether from the rap side as with Guru’s “Jazzamatazz” experiments or from the jazz side as with Branford Marsalis’ “Buckshot Lefonque” album. These attempts have largely failed to win over either jazz fans or hip-hop fans and for a good reason—they aren’t particularly great, the whole is not more than the sum of the parts, and, at best, they are mildly interesting.
There has also been a hunger for a new vocalists from the hip hop generation who would operate in the the jazz milieu. But this hunger—and the strong desire for a viable hip-hop fusion to emerge—has led to premature celebrations. Folks just so badly want it to work and are in love with the idea, the concept, that anyone even trying to make it happen gets a certain amount of props. But the question always remains, as with all music: is it good, is it exciting, is it something you want to listen to again and again? In recent years there have been major underground buzzes on two male vocalists operating under the “jazz” banner: Gregory Porter and Jose James. Both have been snapped up by major labels; Porter’s album is still in progress but Jose James’ “No Beginning No End” album has just been released by Blue Note.
Jose James has been bubbling up since the release of his first album in 2008 on a small indie label. Still in his thirties, James has more cutting-edge credentials than Porter, who is older, whose background is in Broadway and who melds R & B and jazz rather than James neo-soul/hip-hop/jazz mix. On the basis of the buzz, I checked out a couple of James’ albums and was completely underwhelmed. His vocal presence was not strong and while the fusion of elements seemed workable, the compositions really seemed to lack substance. It seemed to be a classic case of style over substance. As a result, I approached his new album with skepticism.
“No Beginning No End” kicks off with a nice, slinky groove under a chant-like melody that has energy and sounds fresh. A very encouraging beginning. The second track, a collaboration with French/Moroccan chanteuse Hindi Zahra, is an innovative mix of jazzy musicianship, fresh melody and Moroccan rhythms. It is the strongest track on the album, though it’s pleasures are more textural than compositional. The third track, “Trouble”, works off a subtle Al Green/Hi Rhythm Section groove and feel to great effect.
So on the basis of these three tracks alone, “No Beginning No End” is Jose James’ best album. But is it a great album? A breatkthrough? Though the album has a very appealing sound—warm, fresh textures and grooves—it lacks strong compositions and a strong vocal presence. Jose James’ voice is an earthy, resonant instrument with an appealing burr; he has a great sound. But his singing consistently fails to deliver much in the way of dynamics or expression. On many tracks it seems almost like just another textural element so you really don’t get much of a feeling of personality or artistic persona. Some tracks—the gospel jazz of “Do You Feel” and “Bird Of Space” have more urgent playing and focused energy in the backing tracks and perhaps because of that James sings with more presence and definition. But his singing rarely rises above the merely pleasant, in a Bill Withers kind of way (though Withers was a master at infusing low-key vocals with expression).
The other issue is that the compositions in general are just not particularly memorable. Overall they are pleasant, sometimes subtle and sometimes interesting lyrically but they lack depth and power. So, the verdict? This is the most best, most enjoyable James album to date. But on the evidence, he is not yet the jazz vocal messiah we are waiting for.
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