Boney James
Boney James in 2013
Boney James in 2013
Background information
Birth nameJames Oppenheim
Born (1961-09-01) September 1, 1961
Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresJazz, contemporary jazz, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Saxophone
Years active1970s–present
LabelsConcord
Websiteboneyjames.com

Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist (tenor, alto and soprano), songwriter, record producer and recording artist.

He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 and Best Traditional R&B Performance, 2009) and a Soul Train Award winner (Best Jazz Album 1998). He has also received three NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Jazz Album.[1] James has sold over three million albums,[2] and has accumulated four RIAA Certified Gold Records. In 2009, Billboard magazine named James one of the Top 3 Billboard Contemporary Jazz Artists of the Decade.

Biography

James took up the clarinet at the age of eight, switching to sax when he was ten[3] having spent his early teen years in New Rochelle, New York. He became musically influenced by the R&B Motown genre and saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. When he was fourteen his family moved to Los Angeles, where he joined a fusion band that opened for acts like Flora Purim and the Yellowjackets. Another member of this early band was John Shanks, now a successful pop producer.[4] James eventually received a degree in history from UCLA, but began playing music full-time after graduation. James learned to play keyboards and in 1985 he joined Morris Day's band. His R&B influence was further strengthened by seven years of touring and sessions as a sideman with Day, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Caldwell, Randy Crawford, Teena Marie and others. It was on the road with Crawford in 1986 that he earned his now-famous moniker, when his physique led a bandmate to joke "We'll have to start calling you 'Boney' James!"[5]

In the early 1990s, while on tour with Bobby Caldwell's band, he met engineer and producer Paul Brown, beginning a 10-year period of collaboration. In 1992 he released his debut album as a leader, Trust, on the independent record label Spindletop Records. Following the record's success, he was signed by the Warner Brothers label in 1994, on which he released the RIAA Certified Gold Records Seduction, Sweet Thing and Body Language albums.

In 2000 he collaborated with trumpeter Rick Braun on an album called Shake it Up. Their duets include the now classic updated version of Hugh Masakela's "Grazin' in the Grass". Both have appeared regularly on each other's solo albums and the two have toured internationally a number of times. Other artists to have made guest appearances on Boney's records include Lalah Hathaway, Raheem DeVaughn, Faith Evans, George Benson, George Duke, Dwele, Al Jarreau, Philip Bailey, Anthony Hamilton, Jaheim, Eric Benét, Dave Hollister, Stokley Williams, Avery*Sunshine, Kenny Lattimore and Angie Stone.

James began co-producing his records with Brown in 1997, and assumed the role of sole producer starting with his Grammy-nominated Pure album in 2003. Following a string of chart-topping albums, in 2006 James moved to Concord Records[4] and released Shine which posted his highest Billboard Pop Chart positions to that date (No. 44 on the Top 200). His 2009 album, Send One Your Love earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance. His 2013 album The Beat received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Returning home from a concert performance on May 15, 2010, his car was rear ended by a drunk driver, causing him a fractured jaw, two shattered teeth and facial lacerations which sidelined his career for two months.[6]

In 2014, he produced two songs on Al Jarreau's George Duke tribute album My Old Friend, "No Rhyme No Reason" (feat. Kelly Price) and "Bring Me Joy" (feat. George Duke).[7]

In 2015, he released futuresoul which spent eleven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart and was the best selling Contemporary Jazz Record of 2015.[8] In August 2015, James made his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

2017 saw the release of Honestly, his sixteenth album (which also featured production from Nutty P Beats) which became his eleventh No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart. It also reached No. 22 on the Billboard Current Albums Chart, his highest pop chart debut to date.[9]

June 2020 he released his seventeenth studio album Solid, describing it as "a reaction to how stressful the world feels these days. Music is a respite, it’s always ‘solid’ and never lets me down."[10] The CD broke his previous Pop Chart record, debuting at #10 on the Billboard Top Albums Chart.[11] His eighteenth album Detour was released on September 23, 2022.[12]

James is married to actress and director Lily Mariye and in 2012 he contributed an original score to her directorial feature film debut, Model Minority.[13]

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Complete list of nominees for the 45th NAACP Image Awards". Los Angeles Times. January 9, 2014.
  2. ↑ "SAN MANUEL: Boney James takes 'The Beat' to the stage". Pe.com. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Boney James 2007". Smoothjazznotes.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Boney James". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Kohlhaase, Bill (December 23, 1994). "No Plain James : Boney, a nickname he got during lean years as a Touring Musician, stuck; Now he wants to make his name as a saxman With 'Backbone'". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ Rodgers, Larry (May 18, 2010). "Sax man Boney James hurt in car crash". The Arizona Republic.
  7. ↑ "Al Jarreau Salutes George Duke on New Star-Packed Album". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Contemporary Jazz Albums : Jan 04, 2018 - Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Boney James' New Album HONESTLY Debuts at #1". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Q&A with Boney James: A Smooth Jazz Icon's 'Solid' Sound Stands the Test of Time". Jazziz.com. 13 March 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ Cantor, Brian (23 June 2020). "Chloe x Halle, Gone West, Boney James Debut On Billboard Artist 100 Chart". Headlineplanet.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Jazz/R&B Sax Icon Boney James to Release 18th New Album "Detour" on Sept. 23rd, 2022 – on Vinyl Jan. 13th, 2023". The Urban Music Scene. August 26, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Model Minority: The Movie". Modelminoritymovie.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
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