NAMM Yamaha Show: Jamie Cullum, Bob James, Nathan East, and Chris Gero perform at NAMM 2015, held in Nashville, Tennessee at the end of January.

February found Fourplay back together in the studio to record their 25th Anniversary album, Silver, at the place where it all began…Sunset Sound.

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Get the newest from Bob James, LIVE at the Milliken Auditiorium!

 Official Japan release date is February 28, 2015.

Japan Dates
February 28: Yamagata – Terrsa Hall
March 1: Tokyo – Cotton Club
March 3: Yokohama – Motion Blue
March 5-7: Tokyo – Blue Note

Bob James and Nathan East met up at NAMM at the end of January to get together with some friends. 

Held at the Anaheim Convention Center, the start studded weekend long event presented the opportunity for some terrific collaborations.

Including a special performance featuring Jamie Cullum, Bob James, Nathan East, and Chris Gero in on the act.

Check some of the photos from the show below!

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Most people know only fragments of his music via samples in hip hop tracks. Now here’s the whole story, told by the man himself: Bob James.

Bob James’s music has informed and inspired some of the most important producers and musicians in the post-disco era, and has been sampled by hip hop and dance producers alike. At the same time his take on fusion has been a constant key presence in the development of jazz since the mid-seventies. And, of course, his studio work with folks like Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack and Quincy Jones well deserves the legendary status it has with those in the know.

Listen to the chat HERE!

Over time, things change.  Styles evolve.  Clothes, hair, production, and music itself.
The icing on the cake may change flavors, but if you get down the cake itself, it is the same as it has always been.

The soul of music is the same, providing the nourishment to uplift our lives, and ambition to dream.
It is said that there are two days that are great in a person’s life…the day we are born, and the day we discover why.

We wish a special 75th birthday to Bob James.

Thank you for all the positivity you have brought to the world…

Music and Jazz legend, Bob James was inducted into the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance Hall of Fame on October 31, 2014. (continue reading…)

“For many of his fans, Bob James is to jazz what James Brown is to R&B — the music and the musician go hand in hand.” (NPR Music) From his early years touring with Sarah Vaughan to founding smooth jazz supergroup Fourplay, U-M alumnus Bob James has explored a vast stretch of musical territory. A leading force in 1970s crossover jazz, the keyboardist, composer, and producer played an essential role on a series of hit records and has had a profound effect on the history of hip-hop music, with two of his songs among the most sampled in hip-hop history. James’s most recent album, Quartette Humaine, was recorded a month after Dave Brubeck’s death and pays tribute to the iconic pianist. His long-awaited homecoming will feature concert materials drawn from James’s extensive songbook, including tunes from his CTI Records catalog and Dave Brubeck compositions. A UMS debut.

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