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Born in Minneapolis and now based out of New York, guitarist-vocalist José James continues to inspire joy at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop. His discovery in London about a decade back led to legendary jazz label Blue Note Records signing James and releasing five of his albums between 2012 and 2018.
Since then José James has been operating through his own independent label, Rainbow Blonde Records, who shared No Beginning No End 2 last year, the live album José James: New York 2020 earlier this year, and Merry Christmas from José James just a month ago. With Merry Christmas James recaptures the glee of his younger yuletide experiences with some familiar jazz favorites and two originals – all of which feel more multi-faceted and nuanced than their surface-levels may suggest – particularly the melancholy “Christmas in New York”.
