Warm and honest: this is how saxophonist Boney James describes his music. “It's so hard for me to be objective,” says the four-time Grammy nominee. “But those are two things that describe my music. I'm just trying to make records that I love, that's why I call it 'Boney James music'.''
Descriptions aside, James is still going strong after making his indie solo debut in 1992. He's currently turning 30uanniversary of his first major label signing in 1994, just released at 19u album, Slow Burnvia Concord Records (Oct. 18). The continuation until 2022 Bypass, Slow Burn features the sultry No. 12 adult R&B hit/lead single “All I Want Is You” featuring newcomer October London. Additional guests include bassist Marcus Miller, pianist Cory Henry and trumpeter Rick Braun.
James also pays tribute to two legends, covering Herbie Hancock's “Butterfly” and Stanley Turrentine's “Sugar.” And four of the album's 10 tracks, including its title track, were co-written and co-produced by James and multi-instrumentalist Jairus Mozee (Anderson .Paak, Nicki Minaj).
Earlier this year, James became the first artist to score 20 No. 1 singles on Billboard's Smooth Jazz Airplay chart. He achieved the feat as a guest on chart debutant Big Mike Hart's 'Cigar Lounge'. And James recently achieved another distinction: surpassing the 1 billion stream mark on Pandora.
Currently on the road with his Slow Burn tour, says an exuberant James Bulletin board“I just turned 63, but I honestly feel 20 and healthier than ever. My enthusiasm to do this work has not diminished at all. I'm still like a kid in a candy store.”
What is the secret behind your career longevity?
I hope the first thing is the music itself. I spend most of my waking hours trying to improve myself as a musician, songwriter and producer. I truly pour my heart and soul into every project. And it seems like there are some people out there who appreciate and still love the kind of records I make. At least that's how I see it, and that makes me very grateful. I don't know what I'm doing is jazz. My music has many aspects. It's got the R&B side, the Latin, and what I personally bring to my voice, which some people seem to recognize in the horn and enjoy. Maybe these are the reasons.
What drives you creatively when choosing which songs to cover and which guests to collaborate with on your albums?
With singers, it's just trying to match the song with the voice. When I sit down to write a song, I always try to write a song about me as the featured artist playing the saxophone. But every now and then, I think of a piece of music that I feel, through intuition, should be vocal. Then I think about the man or woman who can bring the song to life vocally. I have a sort of running list of people that I keep. And I immediately thought that “All I Want Is You” would be so right for October. I had only heard him last year when his debut album, Marvin's Renaissance, came out Instrumentally, I knew I wanted to work with Marcus on this album. He and I have been running our jazz cruises for the past 15 years, but we hadn't done a recording in all that time — since he played on mine Ride album in 2001. We were in the ship's dressing room one day and Marcus was jamming on the acoustic bass. I didn't even know he played acoustic bass. So I filed it down and then put his acoustic solo on the bass [album opener] “Arcadia.”
Covering Herbie's “Butterfly” every now and then you get an earworm and “Butterfly” had become my earworm. Every time I took my soprano sax to soundcheck on the road, I'd start playing the intro to “Butterfly.” So that was the first thing I worked on for this record – to see if I could come up with a Boney-like arrangement. It's a similar story to Stanley Turrentine's 'Sugar'. It's a song from my past that I've always loved. I just shook up the groove a bit for more of a modern vibe with Rick Braun.
Speaking of newcomer London, what was it like working with him?
I was so impressed by his voice. And I also felt that we shared a musical sensibility. It's a young cat, but it has a retro sensibility. So I was glad to hear that he agreed [to work together]making that incredible vocal. People are bringing R&B back, so I'm always happy when they do [my music] connects with a wider audience. And it's not something I'm conspiring to do. This is just a natural offshoot of an aspect of the music I do. I mean, I came up on the R&B side. That was my entry into the music business: playing as a sideman with R&B acts. R&B was the first music I really loved. And it wasn't until I heard Grover Washington Jr play sax with that sound that I got excited about the sax. And since I can't sing, I have to connect with singers. I joke on stage that I'm an R&B singer trapped in the body of a saxophone. [laughs]
Your first professional sideman was with The Time's Morris Day. How did this come about?
I was delivering pizzas to pay my bills, trying to figure out how to make it as a musician. It was about 1985, right after Purple rain. Morris had just parted ways with The Time. He had moved to Los Angeles and started a whole new band. He was looking for a keyboard, not a saxophone. I played a bit of keyboard and had learned to play 'The Bird' and 'Jungle Love'. So I went to the cattle call, tried out and got hired. I was in Morris' band for five years. Then I was a sideman for several more years – working with the Isley Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Sheena Easton, Teena Marie… I can't even remember all the gigs I did – before I managed to make my first album.
What lesson did you internalize while working with Day?
Each of these concerts taught me something. I was always studying, you know. But with Morris, it was all about how to deliver a good show. It wasn't just about getting up there, closing your eyes and playing your horn. You want to revel people. And I learned this from him. There is another memory that I also hold dear. After I was hired to play keyboards, I said I was really a saxophone player. They didn't believe me. So I brought my horn to rehearsal and Morris later put a sax in the show. During “Gigolos Get Lonely Too”, he brought a woman on stage and basically played a scene from Purple rain. Then he would go to change his uniform. And Morris gave me that time to lead the band and do an extended sax solo. That's when I really thought, “Man, I could use this.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/boney-james-slow-burn-new-album-1235806767/