KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd on Jose James
KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd: I just call him The Man, but his momma calls him José James, so I guess you should too. He was born in Minneapolis, lived in…
By Aaron Byrd • • 1 min readI just call him The Man, but his momma calls himJosé James, so I guess you should too. He was born in Minneapolis, lived in New York for a while and now resides in London. Since his arrival on the international scene in 2008, vocalist James has consistently dazzled critics and audiences alike with his rich baritone voice and his deft combination of soul, hip-hop and jazz.
Some people call him the voice of our generation. Others describe him as the one who will rescue jazz from the after thought of contemporary music. They also say he’s the type of rare musician that may only come around once a generation. These are hefty words, but he is an exquisite talent.
After his debut, ‘The Dreamer‘ was released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings, José describes his introduction to the world as “an explosion” ultimately leading to performances in 30 countries over a 12 month span. José consistently sells out venues all over Europe and Japan, yet he’s relatively unknown here in the states. In fact, he’s never performed in the Western United States!
So I decided to change that and will be hosting this incredible talent for his premiere performance in Los Angeles at my monthly OM residency, presented by KCRW, on Wed. April 14th at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Presale tickets are still avaialable.
Another KCRW favorite, Quadron, will do a DJ Set that night with vocals from their singer Coco. This will also be Quadron’s first ever appearance in the U.S. (making the trip all the way from Copenhagen!)
Peace,
Byrd