Photo credit: Sherman Lainez
You guys know how much we loved James’ No Beginning, No End. In fact, this remains one of our favorite songs.
According to the press release from Blue Note, While You Were Sleeping signals a new creative direction for James:
That creative shift is heard in the rock edge of tracks like “EveryLittleThing” and “Anywhere U Go” and is evidenced in a change in José’s band which adds guitarist Brad Allen Williams to the stellar line-up of keyboardist Kris Bowers, bassist Solomon Dorsey and drummer Richard Spaven. The influence of Jimi Hendrix can be heard throughout the album as much as R&B forefathers like Al Green. Special guests on While You Were Sleeping include vocalist Becca Stevens who duets with James on her song “Dragon,” as well as trumpeter Takuya Kuroda who is featured on the cover of Green’s classic “Simply Beautiful” that closes the album.
Yes, June 10 seems like a long way off. Fortunately, Jose will be hitting to road to give fans a preview of the new material.
JOSÉ JAMES – U.S. TOUR DATES
April 15 – World Café Life – Philadelphia, PA
April 17-18 – Scullers – Boston, MA
April 20 – Evanston SPACE – Chicago, IL
April 21 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
April 22-23 – Dazzle – Denver, CO
April 24 – The Triple Door – Seattle, WA
April 25 – Alberta Rose Theatre – Portland, OR
April 26 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
June 12 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
June 15 – Playboy Jazz Festival @ Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
June 20 – Magoffin Auditorium – El Paso, TX
June 21 – Charline McCombs Empire Theatre – San Antonio, TX
June 22 – Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
June 26 – The Pour House – Raleigh, NC
June 28 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Finally, here’s the track listing for the album:
1. Angel (José James)
2. U r the 1 (J. James/T. Billig/K. Bowers/B. Williams)
3. While You Were Sleeping (J. James)
4. Anywhere U Go (J. James/S. Dorsey)
5. Bodhisattva (J. James/S. Dorsey)
6. 4 Noble Truths (J. James)
7. Dragon feat. Becca Stevens (Becca Stevens)
8. Salaam (K. Bowers/B. Williams/S. Dorsey/R. Spaven)
9. Without U (J. James/T. Billig/B. Williams)
10. EveryLittleThing (J. James/K. Bowers)
11. xx (J. James)
12. Simply Beautiful feat. Takuya Kuroda (Al Green)
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