June 01, 2009

Jose James - Songwriting, singing and all that jazz

By Madeleine Chong

Jose James is not your daddy's jazz musician. Decked out in a New York crest-emblazoned cap and a casual tee, he wouldn't look completely out of place among a group of rappers. And that's the appeal of the man and his music − often described as an old soul in a young body, his brand of jazz is more accessible to a modern crowd.

Making waves with his 2008 album, The Dreamer, on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, Jose James is the vanguard of a musical revolution with his stripped down, emotive singing. The titular track, a tribute to Martin Luther King and inspired by his iconic speech that begins "I have a dream…", displays the mastery this young, Brooklyn-based musician has over jazz's domain.

Despite a bout of jet lag, Jose James still manages to radiate an air of sincerity and warmth, as he settles down for a heart to heart chat with MTV Asia about self expression, writing novels, and the similarities between Singapore and New York.

How did you and Gilles Peterson meet?

I had made an EP in New York, and I was coming to London for the first time. This was in 2006 for a jazz competition, and I just gave out my EP all over town and met people for networking. Gilles listens to so much music - he got a copy and saw one of the tracks I did was a cover of "Equinox" by John Coltrane, which incidentally, is one of his favourite songs. He checked it out and was really impressed, so he emailed me and started talking about his new label and it just went from there.

Do you consciously work messages into your songs? What do you hope fans can take away from your music?

I definitely have an intention [with my songs carrying a message]. The only thing I write about is relationships, because I think the most important thing is how we communicate and relate to each other. It makes us better people, so the main message is all about communication and emotions. As a man, I think it's important to be comfortable with expressing yourself and your feelings as well, because a lot of men find it difficult to express how they feel, so in "The Dreamer", I wanted to sing aloud about love, but not the sort of romantic, easy love, you know what I mean?

Was it always a childhood dream for you to go into singing?

Not exactly, I didn't even want to do music until I was in high school. That was when my voice changed and then suddenly I had this voice to use, so I thought, 'maybe I can sing.' I always like rappers actually.

Why take the path of jazz and not hip-hop then?

Hip-hop was big for me and kind of introduced me to jazz, but jazz for me was just deeper. It just spoke to more of my essence, more of who I was. I still love hip-hop, but hip-hop in a way just takes me so far, and jazz takes me further.

What is the creative process of songwriting like for you?

Usually, it just starts with the music. I was actually writing in the hotel today. If I get an idea and I don't have the piano, like if I'm on tour, then I'll just go to the computer and sing the different parts, and I hear everything together. Once I like the beat and I've got the music and the chorus down, then I usually hear the words. It all comes together pretty quickly, you have to catch it, otherwise it's gone. I learnt that the hard way, because sometimes you're on the airplane and everyone is sleeping, then you'll have to be quiet and sing to yourself or write it down.

So, was any of the material you've written in your hotel room earlier inspired by Singapore?

Yeah! [laughs] It definitely does have an effect. I think of Singapore as a very working town, there's a lot of new buildings, new energy, and I think I got inspired by that. You look out the window and you see that everything is just bustling; it's like New York, with a lot of action going on. Probably if I was somewhere else, I'll just be lazy, but it's all good here.

What are you currently working on?

There's a new album coming out in September, it's almost finished now. I'm working with Flying Lotus and some new people, new producers. Then it's off for a tour in Europe and Japan, and I'm doing a John Coltrane project in the fall, so it's going to be a good year.

Will there be any new influences on the upcoming album? What has changed since the first one?

The first album was all acoustic, and I've expanded some of the stuff with the band, like now there's a four-piece horn section, and there's going to be a lot of percussion as well. I'll be working with people like Flying Lotus, Basement Jaxx, Max Beats, some of the producers that I really admire, so it'll be a mixture of beats and acoustic music.

If not for jazz, what would you be doing?

I think I'll be writing fiction. It's actually my dream or my plan before I die to write full fiction novels. I really love literature, that was like my first gift, creative writing. My all-time favourite book is Beloved, by Toni Morrison. I also love stuff by Walter Mosley and James Boardman. And I kind of read a lot of Khalil Gibran, he's the guy who wrote The Prophet, lots of poetry and spiritual stuff. I like everything, I can learn from any good writer, but those are definitely my favorites.