José James @ Paradiso, Amsterdam

Making a stop at Amsterdam’s Paradiso on his European tour, José James more or less had a homerun here. His live album which he released last year, was recorded right here at this wonderful venue. The packed crowd cheered the band up, sang along, and simply just had a good time. With band members BIGYUKI (keys), Yves Fernandez (bass), Dom Gervais (dr), and Ebban Dorsey (alto sax). Mostly playing music from José’s latest album “1978: Revenge Of The Dragon”, the band clicked from the start, with José’s voice smoothly meandering through “Inside And Out” by The Bee Gees or Herbie Hancock’s “I Thought It Was You” or Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You”.

Adding to the mix were soul staples like “What You Won’t Do For Love”, “Lovely Day”, or “Just The Two Of Us”, the latter two from his album of songs by the late great Bill Withers. It seems that he can really tackle any kind of material whilst staying intensely soulful, often jazzing things up, especially on his own material. It all looks so effortless and cool and yet, extremely imaginative and vibrant at the same time. Kudos to all the band members who were simply outstanding. And of course we all love “Come To My Door”, the beautiful ballad written by Emily King for his 2013 LP “No Beginning No End”.

His tour continues:
7/19 Amarante – MIMO Festival
8/10 San Jose – Jazz Summer Fest
8/31 High Point – John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival
9/26 Sandton – Joy of Jazz Festival
10/18 Northridge – Valley Performing Arts Center
1/9-11 Los Angeles – Blue Note
1/20 Fort Lauderdale – Christian McBride’s World at Sea