Boney James: The return of a jazz giant

Four-time Grammy® nominee and multi-platinum-selling saxman Boney James will perform at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Performing Arts Theatre at Cape Henlopen High School.

James’ 15th CD, “Futuresoul” contains 10 original songs produced and written or co-written by James. Released by Concord Records in May, “Futuresoul” features vocalist and Mint Condition frontman Stokley on “Either Way,” a collaboration enabled by Twitter.

Also featured is rising-star trumpet player Marquis Hill (2014 winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition) on the plaintive “Far From Home.”

“Tone, or the ‘sound’ of my horn, is really crucial to me,” says James. “I practice my saxophone in my backyard studio every day when I’m not on the road. I’m still dedicated to trying to be a better player. I spend much of my time with a keyboard next to me and a computer behind me,” he continues. “So when I get a creative idea, I’ll reach over to the keyboard and pick out a few notes or record myself singing a melody. I start gathering pieces. Then I’ll build on them and gradually they’ll turn into songs. I get more and more excited and start spending 14-hour days out there.

“Before I know it, I’ve made an album. It’s amazing how it happens – like a ball rolling down a hill, it develops its own momentum.”

Of course this process would not be possible if James weren’t so skilled with the production technology – he says he views digital production as an instrument in itself.

He almost certainly could not have imagined such a thing when, at age eight, he picked up his first instrument, the clarinet. “I really wanted to play the trumpet, but when we went to the local music store, all they had were clarinets,” he explains.

“I had to have something that day, so I took one home. The saxophone came up two years later because there were so many clarinet players in the band. My teacher kind of leaned on me to switch,” James laughs. “It was fate.”

The ‘analog’ tone of the sax combined with the ‘digital’ sounds of modern production contribute to the sonic tension that fuels “Futuresoul.”

Boney says, “The track ‘Vinyl’ really embodies the blending of retro and modern,” as it represents the first time he has sampled a classic record.

“What you hear in the chorus,” he notes, “is a ‘filtered’ piece of the Stylistics song ‘People Make The World Go Round.’”