|
Robert McElhiney "Bob" James (born December 25, 1939) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning smooth jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer. He is recognized as one of the original founders of smooth jazz, is renowned for the complexity of his arrangements and instrumentals, and his work is frequently sampled.
James was born on on Christmas Day, 1939 in Marshall, Missouri. His parents were Albert Lamkin "Buddy" James and Alice McElhiney. He also has an older sister named Katherine (Katie). James started playing the piano at the early age of 4. His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, a local Catholic school, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with Mrs. R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. He credited her as 'an excellent teacher who also taught fundamentals of theory and harmony". His first professional music job was when he was approximately 8 years old when he played for a tap dance class at Mercy Academy. "As I recall, I was paid 25 cents, but was eventually let go because my inability to keep the beat over the noise of the tapping"
At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, a teacher at Christian College in Columbia, Missouri with more music instruction during high school from Harold Lickey, conductor of the Marshall High School Band & Orchestra. Apart from the piano, James can also play trumpet, timpani and percussion.
From around 1950 - 1956, James competed at the Missouri State Fair piano competitions and walk away with several Blue Ribbons. He remembered that “cows were being judged at adjacent buildings.” Other early jobs included being a member of the Earle Parsons Dance Band (circa 1952- 1955) which played various engagements around the Marshall area. It was during this time that he penned his first dance band arrangement, “Once in a While”.
During the summer of 1955, at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, James played for dancing and occasional jam sessions with the Bob Falkenhainer quartet on the Governor McClurg Excursion Boat in the evenings. He recalls that “during the day we had free time and I became a proficient water-skier that summer!”
At age 16, a solo engagement followed in the summer when James traveled with good friend Ben Swinger to Colorado and ended up with a job in the Piano Bar at the Steads Ranch resort, in Estes Park. A year later, he attended the University of Michigan and began his journey towards receiving his Bachelor's and his Master's degree in Music. During the first semester of his sophomore year, James transferred to Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. James's roommate was Nick Brignola, who has become on of the great baritone sax jazz artists. (The following summer found the two of them working together at a jazz club in Albany, New York when James joined the Nick Brignola Quartet.) "The first original composition of mine to be recorded, 'Blue Beau', was included on an album produced by the Berklee School in 1958-59 and performed by the Berklee School big band, which included Charlie Mariano on alto saxophone." He returned to the University of Michigan for the second semester of his sophomore year.
While playing piano in the orchestra of a campus production of "Carousel", James met two people who have since figured prominently in his life; Judy Heric, who was playing the role of Carrie Pipperidge, & Jack O'Brien, who was Mr. Snow. James dated Heric throughout the remainder of his time at University of Michigan until they were married in September 1963.
In 1962, James began recording a bop-ish trio set for Mercury. After a period with Sarah Vaughan (1965–1968), James became a studio musician.
During the 1970s, James played a major role in establishing the smooth jazz genre, appearing with Stanley Turrentine and Milt Jackson on the 1972 album Cherry and with Turrentine on his following album Don't Mess with Mister T. (1973), and that same year was arranging and working as a producer for CTI Records. James was closely associated with Grover Washington, Jr. during Washington's pioneering years at CTI, arranging Washington's albums Inner City Blues (1972), All the King's Horses (1972), Soul Box (1973), Mister Magic (1975), and Feels So Good (1975).
In 1974, James recorded One, his first purely commercial effort as a leader. He later made big-selling albums for his own Tappan Zee label, Columbia, and Warner Bros., including collaborations with Earl Klugh and David Sanborn. James produced Maynard Ferguson's 1975 album Primal Scream and executive produced Ferguson's highly-successful 1976 album Conquistador. "Angela", the 1978 instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, is probably James' most well-known work to date. He is also well known for the smooth jazz classics "Nautilus" and "Westchester Lady", the latter from the album Three.
For their first joint album release, One on One, Earl Klugh and James received a Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1981. James is the founding member of contemporary jazz supergroup Fourplay.
James also received a Grammy award for his collaboration with David Sanborn on the 1986 album Double Vision.
|
