Two years after the release of his impressive debut, José James returns with the excellent and engaging ‘Blackmagic’. The buzz has been building for some time around this record, although the release date (as well as a number of concert bookings) had to be put back after one of the lead producers was dissatisfied with the material and pulled out all the stops to prevent the music from surfacing.

Recruiting some of the biggest name producers of the minute, ‘Blackmagic’ is, on the surface, a more ‘contemporary’ proposition than Mr James’ debut. A good example is ‘Code’, the opener, which combines sensuous vocals with an earthy, resonating bassline and a warm Native Tongues hip-hop feel. You feel that Jose James is taking a step away from his last jazz-centred effort to a more experimental and multiform one.

As is already apparent from his concerts, José James has developed and matured as an artist. ‘Blackmagic’ sees him stretch out even further, embracing Detroit house on ‘Detroit Loveletter’ (with house guru Moodyman) and hip-hop beats on ‘Promise In Love’ (with DJ Mitsu). This is a brave step for a jazz vocalist and the tracks are easily integrated into the feel of the album. However these collaborations feel a touch safe and I would like to see even more experimentation or risk taken. I can’t help for instance feel that fans of Moodyman or DJ Mitsu may feel a little short changed, but the time for a more radical approach will come. Nevertheless, ‘Blackmagic’ might be compared to the efforts of artists such as Robert Glasper and Vijay Iyer in bringing jazz to a wider market, and this is no bad thing.

As the album progresses, the music veers towards a more traditional jazz sound (there is a very good bonus cut on the CD) and here James is probably up there with the better jazz vocalists. For instance ‘Beauty’ and especially ‘Love Conversation’ (featuring the vocals of Jordana de Lovely, sounding a lot like Jill Scott) sit head and shoulders above most of the rubbish which masquerades as vocal jazz these days. Amid current debates over the future of jazz music, this is a record that proves there’s still plenty of mileage in the idiom.

(Sanjiv Ahluwalia)

Jose James
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Brownswood Recordings