Keyboardist Bob James Added To Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Lineup and Named 2023 PIJF Luminary Award Recipient

Keyboardist/composer/arranger Bob James, who has shaped modern music for an astonishing six decades with over 60 albums as a leader, has been added to the lineup of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) Presented by Citizens on Saturday, September 16, 3:30 pm, at Highmark Stadium, 510 W. Station Square Drive.

 

Joining iconic musicians and previous honorees Ron Carter (2022) and Chaka Khan (2021), Bob James will receive the 2023 PIJF Luminary Award for his trailblazing work in jazz and jazz fusion and for being one of the most sampled jazz artists in the 50-year history of hip-hop. Two of his most funky, CTI Records compositions, “Nautilus” and “Take Me to the Mardi Gras,” are some of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop. James' music has caught the attention of Run DMC, Slick Rick, Naughty by Nature, Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest, to name just a few. 

 

James was a first generation jazz fusionist in the early 70s, whose trademarked, crisp electric piano and sophisticated swinging arrangements created his classic, critically-acclaimed CTI albums that included One, Two Three and BJ4, which laid the foundation for contemporary and smooth jazz genres in the 80s and 90s. Other James highlights include “Angela,” his theme to the sitcom Taxi, his collaboration albums with Earl Klugh and David Sanborn and his co-founding of the smooth jazz supergroup Fourplay with drummer Harvey Mason, guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Nathan East in 1990. James' latest recording, Feel Like Making Live! showcases the keyboardist in an intimate trio setting that foreshadows the intense, infectious and ingenious music he'll bring to Pittsburgh.

 

Born December 25, 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, James started piano lessons at the age of four. He attended the University of Michigan and the Berklee College of Music. James was discovered by Quincy Jones at the 1962 Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. One year later, James recorded the LP, Bold New Conceptions, an avant-garde project produced by Jones on the Mercury label. James later moved to New York City, where he worked with producer Creed Taylor, saxophonists Grover Washington, Jr., Stanley Turrentine and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson before he joined Taylor's CTI label.

 

A musician of broad tastes and abilities, James has recorded the classical works of Scarlatti, Rameau and Bach, and his music has been performed by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Simply put, Bob James is a renaissance man of music, who shows no signs of slowing down.

 

Tickets to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Presented by Citizens are on sale now at https://pittsburghjazzfest.org

 

The 13th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival presented by Citizens (PIJF) and produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center returns to AWAACC and Highmark Stadium September 14 – 17, 2023. In addition to Bob James, artists include Gregory Porter, Ledisi, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter, Nicholas Payton, Orrin Evans, José James, PJ Morton, Somi, Keyon Harrold with special guests Pharoahe Monch and Mumu Fresh, Madison McFerrin, Christie Dashiell, Chelsea Baratz, Howie Alexander and more.

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