Jose James
Independent - United States

Born as the son of a jazz saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist father from Panama, Jose James first embraced jazz in his early teens. By the age of 17, Jose had emerged as both a budding performer and a serious student of jazz history and technique, performing around Minneapolis in a variety of lineups with an assortment of seasoned local jazz players. Jose’s musical development continued after a move to New York, where he attended the New School’s prestigious jazz program, studying with instrumental legends Junior Mance and Chico Hamilton, both of whom subsequently invited him to perform on their recordings. Jose’s growing notoriety led to him collaborating on record with a wide assortment of jazz, club, and hip-hop acts, including Basement Jaxx, Nicola Conte, Toshio Matsuura, Jazzanova, Flying Lotus, Christian McBride, the Heritage Orchestra, Robert Mitchell, Jazzy Sport, and Simbad. He also established a reputation as a magnetic live performer, appearing at such hallowed venues as London’s Royal Festival Hall, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Vitoria Jazz Festival, Billboard Live in Tokyo, Centro Cultural in Sao Paolo, the Hermitage of St. Petersburg, and Central Park Summerstage in New York.