A Conversation with José James – HuffPost 2.5.13

Mike Ragogna: José James, tell us a little something about yourself.

José James: I’m a man that’s unique to the world. That’s kind of the star I was born under–on the cusp of Capricorn and Aquarius. My mother is Irish-American and my father is Afro-Panamanian, so it’s kind of been the story of my life to be a bridge between different cultures and different styles, and musically, that’s between jazz and R&B.

MR: You just recently celebrated a birthday. What kind of evaluation of your career, or maybe even your life, did you have on your birthday?

JJ: I felt pretty content, you know? I just turned 35. I released my fourth album, and it’s getting an amazing response worldwide. I think I just got to the point where I really trust myself as an artist, which is always a good feeling. It was a really good birthday.

MR: There are some people you’ve been compared to, like Gil Scott-Heron, D’Angelo and Donny Hathaway. How do you feel about those kind of comparisons to you and your music?

JJ: It’s funny because I almost wish people would compare me to female artists. I think comparisons are very on the surface. If I sing, like, “Park Bench People,” and there’s kind of a social undertone, people will say I sound like Gil Scott-Heron. But for me, the more insightful comparison would be a Roberta Flack or Nina Simone–people who really mix different genres of music. At the same time, it’s a great honor to be compared to those legends.

MR: I especially can see that comparison with Roberta Flack. It’s that “slow burn” meets gospel kind of thing that you share.

JJ: Exactly. I’m a big fan.

MR: Let’s talk about your new album, No Beginning No End.

JJ: It took a long time, first of all. That really shaped it because I had the whole time to write it, think about it and record. It was a solid two years of writing, working and recording, which, for me, was a long time. The approach was trying to write without genre and trying not to censor what was coming out. I think a lot of jazz-trained musicians do that. If something a little more simple comes through, we say, “Oh no, that’s not advanced enough.” This is the first time I really just wrote things down and took it all without prejudice, and it’s really interesting what songs came through. I also collaborated with a lot of people because I wanted a more global perspective. I worked with Hindi Zahra in Paris, Pino Palladino in London, and I just tried to make a more cohesive, global statement. I was also just kind of enjoying being a singer as well. I didn’t write two songs on the album. Emily King, a great singer/songwriter in New York, wrote those–“Come To My Door” and “Heaven On The Ground.” I loved those songs and said, “Yeah, I really want to sing that song. There are a lot of different facets of my strengths on this album–me as a vocalist, me as a producer and me as a bandleader and composer.

MR: What is it like when you collaborate with Emily King?

JJ: She’s a kindred spirit. She’s coming more from the singer/songwriter, pop-rock stuff, but she’s really soulful. I really wanted to build off of the kinds of albums we’ve been referencing–Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway–things in the late ’60s early ’70s that combine a lot of different styles. To me, she’s like a modern day Carole King. She writes really beautiful melodies that can be interpreted by a lot of different people and it’s still soulful, so she was kind of a no-brainer. I also wanted some female writers and energy to come help. I’ve been working with a lot of guys since I started, so it was like a nice balance.

MR: Speaking of balance, you had Pino Palladino producing with you. What was that like in the studio, when you were getting together to map or chart stuff out, or even when you were out to dinner after a session? What was your relationship like?

JJ: Pino, you know, he’s the world’s best bass player, and possibly the world’s most complete bass player. It’s really such an honor to work with an artist on his level. You just think about a handful of artists that he’s worked with and it’s pretty stunning–D’Angelo, John Mayer, Herbie Hancock–it’s pretty crazy. He’s very focused, he’s very relaxed, and he gets the job done. There’s not a lot of messing around, but it’s not ever stressful. For example, he was working with D’Angelo in the evening and tracking with us during the day, and it was very easy. He would just show up with his coffee, have a little breakfast, and then knock out some takes. Then he’d go work with D’Angelo from 5:00 pm to three in the morning; he did that four days in a row. His work ethic is so insane, and I think any new artist or young artist should know that the people who are in it the longest, and are now the most respected, still work the hardest.

MR: You had a lot of other amazing talent on this album, but this seems like “your” album regardless. And to that point, it seems like the one on which you most clearly identify who José James is musically. Would you say that’s fair?

JJ: That’s totally right. This is the first time that there was actually no label involved, so I just got to do what I wanted to do. I think when you’re a young artist and you’re trying to get signed, that’s the whole focus. You want to get into mainstream, you want to make music, and it’s really exciting, but I think you’re also more open to compromise. That’s not necessarily bad, but I was definitely at the point where I didn’t want to have four-hour meetings with A&R trying to show them that my music was important. It was really refreshing to have the opportunity to do what I wanted. I think a lot of times we think of music as being different from other art forms. You would never ask a sculptor or painter, “Go paint this because you’ll get paid more,” you know what I mean? Some of that kind of does happen, obviously, but it’s a different thing. So, this kind of reminded me that music is art. Music is something that, in its best sense, should be removed from a commercial setting, and that’s what happened. Thankfully, I had the resources to make it happen, and the time. I think it’s all really worked out for the best.

MR: To me, this album also feels like it’s R&B meets genre benders like Ray Charles.

JJ: To me, I traced the whole evolution of R&B from Nat King Cole. Nat King Cole influenced Ray Charles deeply, and Ray Charles, of course, influenced everybody else–Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye–they all looked up to him. I don’t even like calling this album an R&B album or a jazz album. I think there are a lot of different styles of music in it, and I’m just glad people like it.

MR: Maybe you could use the word “soul” without the traditional meaning of “soul” being applied to it, although that’s in there as well.

JJ: Yeah, that absolutely works.

MR: Tell me about “Birds Of Space.”

JJ: I wrote that one by myself, but the way that it kind of happened came out of conversations with Leon Ware, and my fascination with Marvin Gaye’s I Want You, which is my favorite album of all time. I just wanted that kind of feeling. I’m really fascinated with that kind of jazz harmony together with a funky R&B feel. Marvin’s a sensitive singer. He’s not pushing, he’s kind of drawing you in, and that’s been a big influence. It was cool to write the song and also to record it because it actually started out as a rehearsal with me and Nir Felder on guitar, a drummer and keys.

MR: Talking with you now, it seems like the title No Beginning No End is appropriate. This album really is like a reset button for you.

JJ: Absolutely. I think this sort of introduces me, especially in the US, in the right way. People get confused–I’m doing a standards album, and then I’m working Flying Lotus–I don’t get confused because to me it’s just great music. I do now see that people get confused, and I kind of understand a little more the dilemma of people like John Coltrane. He changed at one point from week to week. You kind of do have to slow down, consolidate everything, and put it together in a cohesive way, and that’s what this album is.

MR: What advice do you have for new artists?

JJ: Try everything. Try a lot of different things and see what you like. I think someone like Miles Davis really found his strengths. He couldn’t play that high and he couldn’t play that fast, so he stopped trying to do that. I think the frustration you can get into as a young artist is when you realize your limitations, but you want to accomplish that rather than seeing that you don’t have to do everything. Just focus on your strengths.

MR: So, if jazz music was this beautiful woman sitting across from you at a table, what would you say to her?

JJ: Uh…thank you? [laughs]

MR: [laughs] Any thing else you want to share?

JJ: I’m really thankful to make music and share it with people around the world. It’s great to finally have my first solo album out in the US as well. It’s a fantastic feeling.

MR: José, thanks sir for the chat, I appreciate it, all the best.

JJ: Thank you so much, man. It was great talking to you.

Transcribed by Ryan Gaffney