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Celebrating the eightieth birth year of the legendary R&B singer songwriter, Blue Note recording artist José James presents “Lean On Me: José James celebrates Bill Withers.” Vetted personally by Mr. Withers himself, the show is an exploration of the deep musical catalogue that touched millions of hearts and united communities worldwide. Featuring Withers’ top ten hits as well as his soul ballads and rare grooves, James brings both a deep musical appreciation and a contemporary approach to songs such as “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Hope She’ll Be Happier,” and “Just the Two of Us.” Fittingly, James has assembled a truly all star cast of musicians: Nate Smith on drums, Ben Williams on bass, Sullivan Fortner on keys and Brad Allen Williams on guitar.

José James on the project:

We’ve lost a lot of phenomenal musicians over the last few years. David Bowie, Sharon Jones, Leonard Cohen, Prince. That combined with the insanity of our current world events made me want to focus on our living genius and positive energy as a people. I’ve been drawn to Bill Withers’ music for years and started performing a medley of his songs in my live set. It was an organic thing that started at sound check then grew to become a massive 20 minute musical and emotional highlight of my live show. When I discovered that he was turning 80 in 2018 I thought, “What better way to bring positivity to the world while challenging the racist, fascist and sexist status quo?” His songs reflect a love for community, for unification; his music respects elders, mentors and explores male vulnerability in a way that’s missing from today’s R&B. And his catalog is vast and powerful. He’s simply one of the best living songwriters, period. “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Lovely Day,” “Just the Two of Us” – who wouldn’t want to sing these amazing songs? The hard part was choosing between his nine albums,but I had a lot of help from Don Was and from the band. I think we found the perfect balance between soulful ballads, the radio hits and the deep cut rare grooves.

José James on meeting Bill:

Meeting Bill Withers was one of the personal highlights of my life. We had dinner at Musso and Frank’s and sat in the Frank Sinatra booth, just down the street from the Capitol building. He’s a total genius and one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. I learned more in that one hour with him than I learned at music school or a decade’s worth of live shows. He’s seen it all and worked with the best of them, in every category. At one point he pulled out his phone and started chatting about friends he’s made in the business, moving easily between Muhammad Ali, James Brown and John Mayer. We all adore him and any songwriter worth their salt knows that Bill is up there with Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Carole King, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Elton John, Billy Joel – he’s in the pantheon of greats. Plus he’s an amazing singer and developed a sophisticated sound that blends funk, singer-songwriter, blues, R&B and gospel. This is where John Legend, Alicia Keys, D’angelo, people like that come from. This is home. I showed him my list of his songs and he absolutely loved it. I think he’s happy that his music still has a place in the lives and hearts of people worldwide and that we all want to celebrate his life and talent.

José James on the band:

The first time that I played with these guys I knew that we had something special. It was a session in Brooklyn and we started playing “Grandma’s Hands” – no rehearsal, just playing. It was super deep and soulful in a way that can only be described as spiritual. This is easily the best band I’ve ever played with, everything we touch is magic. The chemistry is just unbelievable. We all have a deep love and respect for Bill’s music, but we never get the chance to play like this. Most of these guys are huge stars in the Jazz world so people mainly know them for that; but trust me, this is one of the funkiest most soulful bands that you’ll ever hear. Nate Smith on drums is from Chesapeake, Virginia; Brad Allen Williams on guitar is from Memphis; Ben Williams on bass is from D.C.; and Sullivan Fortner on keys is from New Orleans. So we have a whole lot of southern American musical and cultural identity in the band. Blues, funk, R&B, jazz, rock, soul and church music .. it’s all there. I grew up in Minneapolis, which is Prince and Bob Dylan territory, so I’m bringing that storytelling aspect. And through his music Bill is one of the greatest storytellers of all time.

Lineup:

José James – vocals, guitar
Sullivan Fortner – piano, Fender Rhodes
Brad Allen Williams – guitars
Ben Williams – basses
Nate Smith – drums

Set List:

Ain’t No Sunshine
Grandma’s Hands
Who is He (And What is He to You?)
Use Me
Lean on Me
Kissing My Love
Hello Like Before
Lovely Day
Make a Smile for Me
Look to Each Other for Love
Just the Two of Us
Hope She’ll Be Happier
I Can’t Write Left-Handed
Better Off Dead

Photo credit: Janette Beckman

A highly-respected trumpeter born in Kobe, Japan, Takuya is a forward-thinking musician that has developed a unique hybrid sound, blending soulful jazz, funk, post-bop, fusion and hip hop music.

After following the footsteps of his trombonist brother playing in big bands, he relocated to New York to study jazz & contemporary music at The New School in Union Square; a course he graduated from in the mid-noughties. It was here that Takuya met vocalist José James, with whom he worked on the ‘Blackmagic’ and ‘No Beginning No End’ projects.

Following graduation, Takuya established himself further in the NYC jazz scene, performing with the likes of Akoya Afrobeat and in recent years with DJ Premier’s BADDER band (also including acclaimed bass player,Brady Watt). Premier said “The BADDER Band project was put together by my manager, and an agent I’ve known since the beginning of my Gang Starr career. He said, ‘What if you put a band together that revolved around a trumpet player from Japan named Takuya Kuroda? He’s got a hip-hop perspective and respect in the jazz field…”

Takuya Kuroda is already incredibly prolific, releasing five albums in the past decade and fortifying a solid reputation in the global jazz scene. 2011 saw the release of Takuya’s independently-produced debut album, ‘Edge’, followed by ‘Bitter and High’ the following year and ‘Six Aces’ on P-Vine in 2013. Takuya was signed to the legendary Blue Note Records in 2014 for his album ‘Rising Son’, as well as appearing on their 2019 cover versions project, ‘Blue Note Voyage’. He released his 5th album ‘Zigzagger’ on Concord in 2016, which also featured Antibalas on a reimagining of the Donald Byrd classic ‘Think Twice’.

Late Summer 2020, Takuya Kuroda returns with his sixth album ‘Fly Moon Die Soon’.
In his words, “this album is about the irony between the greatness of nature and the beautiful obsceneness of humanity. Melodies and grooves fly back and forth from being spiritual to being vulgar.”

Corey King official site | Corey King on Twitter | Corey King on Facebook | Corey King on Soundcloud | Corey King on Instagram

Since moving to New York in 2004, Corey King has focused on being adaptable in many musical environments without sacrificing his musical integrity. He is highly respected by his peers for his creativity and versatility, which are heavily influenced by numerous styles within the music realm. King is a graduate of the Grammy Award-winning High School For The Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), which has produced an immense amount of talent over the years, such as Robert Glasper and Beyonce Knowles. After moving to New York, King received a scholarship to study at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, majoring in Jazz Performance.

Since Corey has been in New York, he has had the opportunities to perform/record with notable artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Glen Hansard, Chris Dave, Stokley of Mint Condition, Mos Def, Gil-Scott Heron, Takuya Kuroda, D.J. Premiere, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Pharoahe Monch, Phonte (Little Brother), Nicholas Payton, José James, Bilal, Wyclef Jean, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi, Hercules and Love Affair, Mark Ronson, Maria Daulne (Zap Mama), Lauryn Hill and Ludacris.

Takeshi Ohbayashi official site

Rich, colorful and soulful pianist Takeshi Ohbayashi brings listeners an exhilarating concert experience.

A native of Hiroshima, Japan, Takeshi Ohbayashi began playing piano at the age of two.

Ohbayashi went on to study film scoring and composition at Tokyo College of Music, but it was not until he attended a jazz piano clinic during his freshman year, that he found his calling to jazz. He was awarded a scholarship to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he began his studies in 2007. Following this, Ohbayashi was awarded the Best Player Award and the Audience’s Favorite Award in the 2009 Yokohama Jazz Competition. In 2007, he placed in the top three of the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. In Fall 2009, Ohbayashi was selected to be a part of the opening class of the honorable Berklee Global Jazz Institute, led by Danilo Perez.

During his time in the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Ohbayashi performed and taught alongside world class musicians in music clinics around the world.

Some of the many venues Ohbayashi has performed in, was the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Barbados Jazz Festival, Martinique Jazz Festival, Spokane Jazz Festival, Muroran Jazz Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, Saratoga Jazz Festival, Elkart Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival, Nancy Jazz Festival, Red Clay Jazz Festival, Jazz Festival de Conservatorio de Puerto Rico, The Blue Note in NY, Iridium Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club, Smalls in NY, The Light House, Yoshi’s in CA and Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha.

Ohbayashi graduated from Berklee in 2011 and currently resides in New York City where he leads his own group. Some of the notables that Ohbayashi has toured with internationally are, Takuya Kuroda, Darren Barrett, Felix Peikli, Charles Turner III, Erena Terakubo. He is also an accomplished and reputable composer, arranger and educator.

His debut album, “Introducing Takeshi Ohbayashi” was released in September 2011.

Nate Smith official site | Nate Smith on Facebook | Nate Smith on Twitter | Nate Smith on Instagram | Nate Smith on Soundcloud

Ira Nathaniel “Nate” Smith (b. December 14, 1974) is an American drummer, composer, songwriter and producer.

Born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, his musical talent became apparent at the age of eleven, after picking up the drums and learning to play the piano by ear. After high school, he went on to earn a percussion performance scholarship and pursued his musical studies at James Madison University, where he received a B.S. in Media Arts and Design in 1997. While still in college, Nate was recruited by the great jazz singer Betty Carter to participate in her esteemed Jazz Ahead program, which has produced an impressive list of alumni including Jason Moran, Cyrus Chestnut, Jacky Terrason, and Casey Benjamin, among many others. After college, he was invited to continue his studies at Virginia Commonwealth University as a member of the Carpenter Fellowship Program.  In graduate school he met and performed with the legendary jazz bassist and composer Dave Holland.  He continued to perform occasionally with Dave over the next few years, finally joining his GRAMMY-award winning Quintet and Big Band in 2003.  In early 2004, he joined saxophonist Chris Potter’s group Chris Potter Underground, and has since recorded three albums with the ensemble.  Since then, he has gone on to play or record with an array of fantastic and diverse artists, including:  Ravi Coltrane, Jose James, Nicholas Payton,  John Pattituci, Adam Rogers, Regina Carter, Mark de Clive-Lowe and Lionel Loueke. In 2012, Mr. Smith did a 35-City US/Europe tour with pop songwriting legend Joe Jackson.  He has appeared on The Today Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with David Letterman and Conan.  He was featured in the October 2012 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, and a full-length web interview with iDrum magazine.

Mr. Smith is also an esteemed educator, having served on the faculty of Betty Carter Jazz Ahead at The Kennedy Center 2013 and 2014 as well as The 2014 Thailand International Jazz Conference. In March 2015, he will be the featured Artist-In-Residence at his alma mater James Madison University.

Regarding his new project, KINFOLK, Mr. Smith says “In conceiving this project, I wanted to focus on creating the material with very few ingredients; just improvising at the drums or piano or singing ideas into a voice recorder, focusing primarily on rhythm and melody. I want to see what other ingredients the players or singers would bring to the material. I’m interested in a true band sound: I want to know how the musicians will color, shape, and season the raw ingredients, and how to pull all of those pieces together to a whole.”

Mr. Smith is also an accomplished R&B/Pop songwriter and producer, and in 2009 he formed his own production company, Waterbaby Music, Inc.   For more information about Mr. Smith’s music, please visit www.waterbabymusic.com.