José James Focuses on Songs From 1978 and 1979, Something of a Pangaea Moment for Music

José James‘1978: Revenge of the Dragon’Rainbow Blonde RecordsAppearing at the Blue Note Through May 22The Rolling Stones in 1978 emerged from what was widely seen as a creative slump with a classic album, “Some Girls.” The band had been formed roughly 15 years earlier with the mission of playing the blues, and now they were expanding that mandate to include other forms of African American expression. “Just My Imagination” was the Stones’s take on the 1971 Motown hit by the Temptations, and the opening track, “Miss You,” nodded in the direction of disco. By reaffirming their debt to Black music, the Rolling Stones reignited their artistic spark and gave us what would be their most popular album in the United States.It’s no surprise that nearly 50 years later, contemporary musicians would want to revisit that moment, when the many strains of pop — soul, funk, R&B, rock, jazz, and even disco — were all coming together. “Miss You” is the highlight on “1978: Revenge of the Dragon,” the new album by José James. The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and now, apparently, kung-fu fighter is officially of both Panamanian and Irish extraction. Mr. James has settled on the years 1978 and 1979 as the height of this particular Pangaea phenomenon — not least because he was born in 1978. The new album is also a follow-up to his 2024 release, titled more simply “1978.” As Mr. James announced from the stage at the Blue Note, where he is launching the album in New York through Thursday, “‘1978’ was a double LP, it’s a sweeping Marvin Gaye-Leon Ware-style,” referring to the great singer and his producer’s “sexy, black political statement, I love it. If that was like Studio 54, this new album is more indicative of the downtown scene, the Mudd Club, in 1970s New York.” In fact, the album closes with a James original titled “Last Call at the Mudd Club.” The new album is symmetrical in that it includes four new songs by Mr. James and his writing and personal partner, Talia Pnina Billig, who joined him halfway through the Blue Note set on Tuesday. There are also, as Mr. James noted, “four covers through the prism of what was king at that time, which was disco.” Apart from the Rolling Stones’s “Miss You,” there’s Herbie Hancock’s “I Thought It Was You,” the Bee Gees’s “Love You Inside Out,” and “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. That’s two white acts and two Black ones, all from the 1978-79 season. In nearly all cases, I prefer Mr. James’s interpretations to the vintage versions — not only because he is a mellow-voiced and highly copasetic stylist as a singer, but because he injects more elements of genuine jazz while keeping the flavor and the essential groove of the originals. The live band is essentially the same as the rhythm section on the recording, with keyboardist BIGYUKI and drummer Jharis Yokley; Kyle Miles plays bass at the Blue Note while David Ginyard is heard on the sessions. In addition, Mr. James is joined on stage by a young alto saxophone master, Ebban Dorsey, while the album also features trumpeter Takuya Kuroda and tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel. “Love You Inside Out” features Mr. James’s lyrical reworking of the Gibbs brothers’ tune plus a primordial tenor statement by Mr. Wendell that seems to have come up from the bowels of our planet. Mr. James and Ms. Billig’s own compositions freely mix all of these elements — funk backbeats and jazz horn solos, as well as occasional hip-hop excursions and at least one rap interlude. “They Sleep, We Grind” is inspired by and dedicated to Erykah Badu; the tune springs out of the four words of the title, chanted over and over and running throughout a text that is both profane and spiritual; there are four-letter words as well as prayers and invocations. There’s also what sounds like a flute solo but is apparently one of BIGYUKI’s synth lines. “They Sleep, We Grind” ends somewhat quixotically, with what sounds like lines from a movie. It turns out that’s true: Mr. James and his cast of musicians and writers have paid further homage to the 1970s with a 17-minute video titled “Revenge of the Dragon” that is viewable on YouTube. This production both celebrates and parodies kung-fu flicks, especially those of Bruce Lee and particularly as exhibited in the West: The film is shot silent, with post-synced dialog that deliberately doesn’t match the mouth movements on screen. Both the film and the album “Revenge of the Dragon” are enjoyable on multiple levels.Some may find it odd that my major criticism — hopefully constructive — regarding the performance of José James and his crew at the Blue Note is the same as that regarding Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks at Birdland, playing the vintage music of Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Moten and others. It’s that these groups represent both ends of the closely connected history of jazz and social dancing, yet, alas, there’s no place to dance in either club. (You can’t have everything, I guess.) At the Blue Note, Mr. James was informed that there were several tables filled with students who had come down as part of a formal trip from Brentwood High School in Long Island. He told them, “I hope that this isn’t your first jazz show, because if it is, it’s very different from other [stuff] you’re going to see. Did you guys know what to expect or did they just bring you? I hope you realize this is different from other kinds of jazz. It’s not like” … and at this point he started singing “Corner Pocket” by Count Basie. The teenagers responded with wild enthusiasm. He then turned to the rest of us and said, “See? This is why the next generation is going to be fun!” I couldn’t agree more.

José James Focuses on Songs From 1978 and 1979, Something of a Pangaea Moment for Music

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