Bob James and David Sanborn’s new album Quartette Humaine continues its rise to the top of the charts…

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Fourplay’s “Esprit De Four”, composed by Harvey Mason, is in play aboard US Airways and United Airlines!

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Fourplay performing “Sonnymoon” in Leverkusner, Germany (2012)

‘Quartette Humaine’ continues to make moves in the charts!

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Marshall natives Bob James and Mike Henderson took to the stage together for a final performance at the Bob James Jazz Festival Saturday night, May 18, in a historic moment that brought the two artists together on stage for the first time ever.

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Marshall Cultural Council announced Friday, May 10, that Marshall High School senior and accomplished clarinetist Kirby Brayman is the recipient of the first Bob James Music Scholarship, according to a news release from the organization.

Marshall native Bob James made a donation to MCC after the 2012 Bob James Jazz Festival to enable to the organization to establish the scholarship fund, which is intended to provide support to a Marshall student who has shown a devotion to music.

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In his first appearance at the 2013 jazz festival of his namesake, Marshall native Bob James offered a lecture to a group of approximately 20 people Saturday morning, May 18, at the Eckilson-Mabee Theater of Missouri Valley College.

James arrived at MVC at around 9 a.m. sporting a Hawaiian shirt, jeans, a black sports coat and his signature sunglasses. His outfit, much like his music, are a testimony to James’ air of easy-going cheerfulness that he transmitted to the attendees Saturday morning as he talked about his career.

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Bob James & David Sanborn will perform with the Legendary Roots!!!

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

June 7, 2013

We’ve been talking about jazz this whole time, but to the younger generation you’re mostly known as someone whose work has been sampled in countless hip-hop songs.

[Pauses] Is that a question? [Laughs]

On first glance, you’re probably the last person in the world that would be associated with hip-hop, as indelible as the melodies and the compositions that you’ve come up with are. Do you have any idea how it all started? I’m guessing it was from “Nautilus,” but when did you first realize that something was going on there?

I wish I knew. I was flabbergasted, and I think I was probably a little bit slow in even finding out about that crazy phenomenon that happened. The first one that I discovered came about as a result of a friend calling me to ask me if I was aware of [DJ] Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, and they had a recording [“Here We Go Again”] in which they had sampled my recording of “Westchester Lady.” This came before, whether or not historically it came before the sampling of “Nautilus,” I don’t know, but this was the first one that I became aware of. And it reached the public spotlight because their record [“Parents Just Don’t Understand”] won the [Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance].

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