Jos\u00e9 James\u00a0 –\u00a0 Prospect Park\u00a0 –\u00a0 June 12, 2015<\/p>\n
Our attendance at this concert was partly nudged along by Jake.\u00a0 He knows he has to be careful about what he touts to me, and exercises appropriate restraint (especially if I gotta go Brooklyn!); this one worked out well, considering.\u00a0 The thing to consider is that the headliner was Esperanza Spalding.\u00a0 It goes without saying that it will be too dark to sketch any second acts at the PP Bandshell.\u00a0 She’s waaaaay into her concept albums at this point in her career.\u00a0 And that set was, well if you can’t say something nice, retreat to “I don’t get it!”, totally the case here.\u00a0 And the bass was too loud (I know it’s your instrument, honey, but you need someone to advocate for the balance!).\u00a0 I had primo seat for sketching while cooler heads were back there laying on blanket on the grass.\u00a0 So by the middle of her set, when I (and the others) wanted to leave, I physically couldn’t get to them, as the crowd had swelled to clog up all outward access (note to safety managers at the bandshell – aisles must stay clear!)\u00a0 Sorry for all the rant, and that doesn’t even include the driving logistics nightmare tales (yes, plural!).\u00a0 James, though, was a revelation.\u00a0 I’ll be more than a bit skeptical about someone who got to jazz via hip-hop (and more so if he thinks, as stated in an interview that he didn’t necessarily want to be “labeled” as jazz because people would think ….. wait for it…… Michael Bubl\u00e9!) But he pulled it off, and even slung some guitar in the process.\u00a0 The band was all players, no scratchin’, etc., and the set included a far-ranging blend of styles, all delivered with suitable reverence.\u00a0 So that was nice.\u00a0 Even before I did my post-gig research, James had scored some Gambino cred points by having Nate Smith as the drummer; I’d caught him long ago as part of a Dave Holland combo, and remain impressed with his chops.\u00a0 Unfortunately, once again I cannot find the name of a player (the keyboard) for correct credit, oh well.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/parkergambino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Jose-James-v2-signed-jpg-fo.jpg\" "\\"Jose-James-v2-signed-jpg-fo\\"")
<\/a>Jos\u00e9 James<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Nate Smith<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Solomon Dorsey and<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Takuya Koroda<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jos\u00e9 James\u00a0 –\u00a0 Prospect Park\u00a0 –\u00a0 June 12, 2015 Our attendance at this concert was partly nudged along by Jake.\u00a0 He knows he has to be careful about what he touts to me, and exercises appropriate restraint (especially if I … Continue reading