As part of the 2012 NuFunk Festival, in collaboration with Do Right! Music, jazz sensation José James will play the Great Hall on Friday March 2.
The supremely soulful Minneapolis-born singer combines a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition with a b-boy's respect for hip hop culture (check his creative reinvention of Freestyle Fellowship's Park Bench People below) for a spiritually potent sound all his own. Undeterred by the lack of support from commercial radio and the woefully out-of-touch mainstream jazz media, James steadily built a global following with stellar festival performances, sold-out club dates and profile-raising collaborations with McCoy Tyner, Jazzanova, Chico Hamilton, Nicola Conte, Wynton Marsalis, Flying Lotus, The Heritage Orchestra, Christian McBride, Toshio Matsuura, Simbad and Robert Mitchell.
While James'superb swing through the standards on 2010's For All We Know (Impulse!) served notice to the jazz establishment that the promising young baritone had serious chops, the next album could be the topper. As such, James' return to Toronto to preview material for his forthcoming release No Beginning, No End will make his show at the Great Hall (1087 Queen West) a major event.
Tickets are $20 advance and available at Play De Record (357A Yonge), Soundscapes (572 College) and Rotate This (801 Queen West).
Park Bench People by José James
LINKS
NuFunk Festival www.Nufunk.ca
José James www.josejamesmusic.com
