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Jose James' Summer Diary

First day I guess it all began with a phone call from Gilles - how would I like to come spend the summer at Brownswood Road?? A bit of hanging, crate-digging, performing + meeting producers - doing pre-promotion for the album (coming out in January 2008, ya’ll). Dope! New York is hot as hell + I had just finished 2 weeks of recording - the final tracks for the album + a live jazz session with Junior Mance. The very next day I jumped on a plane to London carrying the new music + buzzing about hanging with Gilles Peterson - the Man Himself!! Quite an honor. Next thing I knew I was debuting the new material with London whizzing by as dramatic backdrop + possibility. What is it about London that makes music sound so good? That first night me, Ben Westbeech + Gilles had dinner + I knew this trip was going to be special. The Band Next thing I knew I was in a whirlwind of activity - I met the Brownswood staff  (Simon, Emily, Kate, Thristian + later Dom) + met rising star Tawiah (!), Ben West + Soil + Pimp for a Trace Magazine photoshoot. The Brownswood Crew!! Finally we were all together + as artists we all really connected + felt the movement + the vibe of a new label! Yes yes ya’ll!! We put on Elan Mehler + the Heritage Orchestra to make it complete. Yes Gilles! This was Brownswood.  Next it was time to meet the band - some of London’s finest. On piano, Nikki Yeoh. Bass, “Level-Neville” Malcolm, + on drums Cheryl Alleyne. Truly a great + supportive band with a great vibe + fresh energy! They were excited about the music + truly helped me feel at home - which was big relief! Two days of rehearsal later we flew to Catania, Sicily to play the Mercati Generali Flow.er Festival - playing alongside Gilles, Howie B + Simbad - the venue was amazing - not to mention the food, wine + ambiance! We got off to a great start playing under the stars. The next day we flew to Naples to perform a beautiful gig directly on the beach - with the ocean as the backdrop. We dropped a bit of Coltrane, a bit of Marvin Gaye, + a healthy dose of José James on ‘em + it did the trick - just getting it warmed up for Gilles who absolutely smashed it - had the beach full of dancing feet + happy hearts.  Nicola Conte The next morning I drove across Italy to Bari to meet + record with the legendary jazz producer Nicola Conte. Along the way I joked + vibed with his tour manager Paulo - amazing guy. I got my first real view of Southern Italy - wide open blue skies + rolling hills + valleys. Beautiful. We arrived + I met Nicola + Tommy Cavalieri his long-standing engineer at the studio. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but found a deep environment very serious about jazz + got right to work! We finished laying down the vocal tracks about eight hours later + had a wonderful dinner reflecting the flair + finesse of a true sea town. Bari still has the original stone wall fortifications for defense + a wonderful castle which is really beautiful at night. The next day we hit the studio again + I auditioned some lyrics I had written to a beautiful ballad of Nicola’s. I called it “Awakening.” I recorded a take + came into the control booth to see his opinion. I’ll never forget that moment - his eyes were deeply closed, head bowed. After a moment of silence he looked up directly at me + said, “That’s it.” He told me I had the honor of being the first person other than himself to write a lyric to one of his compositions - definitely a personal achievement! The last day in Bari we just hung out + listened to records from his fabulous collection in his home overlooking the sea. Some people just know how to live! London 2 Back to London to guest with the amazing live energy of Soil + Pimp at the Jazz Café. They were old hands at playing there but for me it was a big deal - I had visited London the year before + seen the Art Ensemble of Chicago there + thought it was the perfect venue - we don’t really have a place like that in New York that has such a variety of music - even Dave Chappelle played there! So I was “well excited” + ready to give my all with Soil + Pimp - great guys, really cool + very warm. Despite the bridge to the upright bass falling off three times (!) they rocked the full-on crowd with passion, energy + full-force jazz!! If you think they are a phenomenon live - being on the same stage is just incredible. They really give it everything they’ve got + the crowd was right there too. An amazing night.  Up next - the Heritage Orchestra. I had been invited to perform with them in Porto, Portugal, at the Casa De Musica - a mammoth spaceship-type building with multiple stages, bars + on our night - orchestras. Needless to say I was excited + Jules from the Heritage did some amazing arrangements for Freestyle Fellowship’s “Park Bench People” + “Love” - which I wrote with Ryan Blum-Krystal. As I listened at the rehearsal I knew the night + the music was going to be a motherfucker + it really was - the sound was amazing + the blend of the strings + reed with brass was truly dope. The crowd was live + we smashed it!! Then of course Gilles completely destroyed the dancefloor + it was really on! Big props to everyone in Proto who showed us mad love + how DOPE was that massive orchestra performing before us?? Sete Ah, the South of France. There is a first time for everything + thankfully that included Sete!! This gorgeous town was the setting for the amazing 3 day festival taking place in 3 different venues. I had the honor of opening the festivities + also of once again playing with the London quartet - but the natural atmosphere of the setting sun over the sea really was tough competition! The venue was Theatre De La Mer, a truly inspiring stone amphitheater - nuff said. The roster was heavy of course - but you already knew that.  London 3 This is where things got interesting - remixes + recording back in London. Did some nice vocals with Bassment Jaxx + Kay Suzuki (recording) + with Simbad + Yam Who (remixes). Never got a chance to meet IG Culture who was doing a remix of “blackeyedsusan” which really, really sucks - hopefully next time. The re-vocal/re-mix sessions were both for different versions of “Spirits Up Above” - people are really feeling that track. The Bassment Jaxx session was a continuation of a session we had begun in New York “a minute ago” + I needed to work out some vocal stuff - how brilliant is Felix by the way? Definitely the most creative producer I’ve ever worked with - he’s really a sound sculptor + I really learned so much from him - besides singing every note possible in my entire range! The Kay Suzuki session was casual beauty - he had a slick jazz Marvin Gaye-ish track that I wrote lyrics to + put down some nice lines - soul jazz on a rainy London afternoon. Yam Who’s studio was right down the road which was super convenient - he’s just had a little girl who is absolutely adorable - fell asleep as soon as I started singing - trying to tell me something? + Simbad is a beast! He had a different take on production - I realized that when he pulled out the alto sax + started running horn lines -  which leads me to my London debut at Cargo - where “bruv” Simbad was a very special guest playing alto - blew people away as they didn’t know he played jazz! He was really great + well needed - he blended expertly with my friend Mike Campagna on tenor who came up from Genova to guest as well (with that New York shit!!). The band was in good form + having Andrea Triana open for us was almost dangerous as she was so good! Surprise guest was Ben Westbeech who jumped up “Park Bench People” with me - the crowd was dope + the room was packed. As folks said to me days later, everyone was shocked at how attentive + digging it people were! It was definitely an emotional show for me as Cargo is the club where Gilles first got a copy of my EP + heard me for the first time - really special night - big respect London! Did some hanging with my homeboy Ben Westbeech - guested with his band at Cargo the next night then again at Trocabrahma where I saw Tita Lima + her band bringing that Brazilian samba flavor + spice! Icing on the cake  At last it came to the last day in London - recording at BBC Maida Vale studio with the London quartet + members of the Heritage Orchestra. Wow. That was crazy - recording all together in a big open room has been a dream - I do record “live” in one take but use isolation booths - this was dope. We did the mammoth version of “Park Bench People” we had performed in Porto - along with a brand new never rehearsed arrangement of “Winterwind” - a new song I had just recorded in New York right before I came over. This was super fresh work + it shows in the recording. Jules arrangement was simply beautiful! Just the quartet played my “blackeyedsusan” - nice + groovin’ - then we closed with a full-on version of “Equinox” - sounding very much along the spirit of the late Coltrane Quartet recordings - Nikki Yeoh sounds scary on that Steinway.  I just want to thank everyone who came out + supported - it means the world + I hope something in the music touched your spirit! I had a blast ya’ll + I can’t wait to do it again - big respect to London + Italy + Portugal + France + Brownswood Summer!! JJ 

  • Posted by Gilles Peterson
  • Aug 28, 03:38 AM

Listened to the Maida Vaile cut of “Parkbench”.

-Absolutely gorgeous.

How indicative of the state of arts in NY, that you have go to London to get the Kojak-style soundtrack treatment.

Y’all are putting a smile on my face. Keep it coming.
Posted by Al
Aug 9, 05:06 PM

Thanks for sharing the experience!
Love the tunes Jose, Ben, and Gilles. Please continue to share the great music us.

Peace

Posted by B.Lowe
Aug 9, 06:21 PM

love the sounds – make more, do more, play more!! – please…

Posted by rich pickingz
Aug 28, 02:38 PM

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