- Audio CD (1 Feb 2010)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Brownswood Recordings
- ASIN: B002N4PAXI
- Other Editions: MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 29,664 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
Minneapolis-born José James is blessed with the sort of honeyed baritone that would have made him a jazz star in whichever decade he emerged from. If that has you primed for the sort of anodyne crooner that’s resident in cocktail bars worldwide, though, think again. James found his way into the genre through the loops of Daisy Age-era hip hop acts like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest before discovering Ellington and Coltrane and enrolling on New York’s forward-thinking New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Vocal Program.
Happily, his music reflects this, making a decent fist of reconciling the weighty history of his chosen idiom with a style firmly rooted in the modern. Helping James out on his second album, Blackmagic, is a raft of producers, including jazzy Detroit house veteran Moodymann, Brooklyn producer Taylor McFerrin and Warp Records’ electronica sensation Flying Lotus. The opening Code, featuring Flying Lotus at the controls, is a fine example of this synthesis. Soft, oozing funk with a liquid keyboard line, James is restrained but insistent in his delivery, and the whole thing has a woozy, organic feel.
Such is typical of Blackmagic, which draws extensively on hip hop and dance culture, but presents its fusions with a blurry, down-tempo spin that should keep all but the most staid jazz heads onside.
Warrior, for example, is an interpretation of Emotions, an instrumental track by dubstep veteran Benga – but James’ band approach it like a live jam, swinging drums and scurrying piano delivered with a propulsive repetition that’s curiously reminiscent of the early work of Chicago post-rockers Tortoise. The Moodymann-produced track, Detroit Loveletter, meanwhile, slows down house rhythms to a jazzy shuffle peppered with languid Rhodes keys, and while the extraneous sounds might verge on chill-out cliché – mmm, running water, nice – James’ commanding, almost criminally sensual delivery smoothes over any flaws.
Beyond such crossover-tinged moments, though, there’s much evidence that James has the skills to hold his own. Love Conversation, a gorgeous duet with Jordana De Lovely, is destined to find its way onto a thousand lover’s playlists; and the closing No Tellin’, a startlingly assured solo piano piece, suggests that beats or no beats, this boy has something going on. --Louis Pattison
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first heard the music of Jose James at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam and I was amazed by his voice and performance. I immediatelu bougt his first CD The Dreamer and now I'm a really Jose James-fan. His second CD is very strong and gives a good statue of his qualities and the possibities. I'm looking forward for his third CD with the Belgian jazzpianist Jef Neve, songs of John Coltrane
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have been living with "Black Magic" for the last two weeks and I will agree with the first reviewer that it is a grower but disagree with it being described as a mish-mash of styles. For me the challenge was letting go of my attachment to "the Dreamer" and letting "Black Magic" introduce itself to me on its own terms. In many ways "the Dreamer" is a hard act to follow - it is a nearly flawless debut carefully crafted to be a timeless classic. The challenge with "Black Magic" is that it is concerned with the "now' enlisting cutting edge producers and collaborators like Moodymann, Flying lotus and Benga to give an identity to the project. Such a strategy begs the question of whether or not it will hold up in the coming years or date. IMHO I don't see this happening because underpinning the project is a dedication to high aesthetics - there's quality writing, musicianship and production on offer here. The album still retains the hazy-lazy flow of "the Dreamer" - you can put on "Black Magic" and just go with the flow. Repeated listening reveals the depths embedded in each track, each listen makes clearer the cohesion of the whole project. Highlights abound - Promises in Love, Code, Black Magic, Love Conversation, Save your Love for me, Made for Love, and more. Overall, a smart update of Mr. James' approach and one that I am glad to be around to hear. I hope there's a vinyl edition. Highly recommended.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
First up I am massive fan of The Dreamer, I cant honestly remember playing an album as solidly I have Jose's last offering it really is a wonderful album. So that may well be part of Balckmagic's downfall. I guess my expectations were perhaps unjustifiably high.
So first impressions were not great it appeared to be a mish mash of styles that provided a lack of consistency that I found frustrating . The Dubstep vibe of Warrior just seems so out of place when compared to the Nancy Wilson cover. The thing is as individual tracks they are all pretty good and if you were listening to GP's worldwide and he dropped one in a set it would probably stand out and make you want more of JJ.
I cant remember if the dreamer was an instant winner with me or not, but I have given this a couple of run throughs and I'm beginning to warm to it. I am sitting here listening to the Bonus untitled track 14 at the end and its much more like what I was expecting and hoping for. The thing is I really like that Mahogani Detroit sound I just didn't want it here amongst some pure jazz vocals.
I don't want to be harsh, the duets work well but again I think they were unexpected so didn't win me over straight away.
Its by no means a bad CD and Jose really is great to listen to at anytime, I think Old age is creeping up on me and I wanted a purer jazz vocalist album, perhaps his switch to Verve and release there later this year will give me my fix.
So first impressions were not great it appeared to be a mish mash of styles that provided a lack of consistency that I found frustrating . The Dubstep vibe of Warrior just seems so out of place when compared to the Nancy Wilson cover. The thing is as individual tracks they are all pretty good and if you were listening to GP's worldwide and he dropped one in a set it would probably stand out and make you want more of JJ.
I cant remember if the dreamer was an instant winner with me or not, but I have given this a couple of run throughs and I'm beginning to warm to it. I am sitting here listening to the Bonus untitled track 14 at the end and its much more like what I was expecting and hoping for. The thing is I really like that Mahogani Detroit sound I just didn't want it here amongst some pure jazz vocals.
I don't want to be harsh, the duets work well but again I think they were unexpected so didn't win me over straight away.
Its by no means a bad CD and Jose really is great to listen to at anytime, I think Old age is creeping up on me and I wanted a purer jazz vocalist album, perhaps his switch to Verve and release there later this year will give me my fix.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A second jazz album but influenced by modern R&B
Jose James' first album, "The Dreamer", was quite a jazzy affair, being mainly filled with mid-tempo and slower jazz tunes with a piano being his acccompaniment of choice. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Amillionmiles
love a bit of blackmagic
I prefer this to Jose's first album. It great, eclectic and has hit the nail on the head. Great job Mr James.
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by Mr. G. Aku
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