{"id":1713,"date":"2020-09-20T21:31:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T02:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=1713"},"modified":"2021-06-24T17:03:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T22:03:12","slug":"bob-james-admas-takuya-kuroda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/bob-james-admas-takuya-kuroda\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Bob James\u2019 ‘Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions’, Admas\u2019 ‘Sons of Ethiopia’, and Takuya Kuroda\u2019s ‘Fly Moon Die Soon’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artists often produce some of their best work when given increased freedom over the creative process. In so doing, their other sonic influences frequently seep into their output, generating something which is not just truer to its craftsman but also expressive of a fuller range of ideas. With fewer confines placed on them by record companies, producers, or other musicians, they commonly develop and examine areas not well-tread. Three fairly contemporaneous releases – Bob James\u2019 Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions<\/em> (Resonance Records, 2020), Admas\u2019 Sons of Ethiopia<\/em> (Frederiksberg Records, 2020), and Takuya Kuroda\u2019s Fly Moon Die Soon<\/em> (First Word Records, 2020) – each showcase how, across different decades, greater flexibility can present new colors, concepts, and questions for consideration.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For James, in some ways, this derives from youthfulness. The octogenarian pianist has long aligned himself with sounds that could be labeled as \u201csmooth jazz,\u201d or, slightly more correctly, instrumental R&B. Generally speaking, this trajectory started through his association with Creed Taylor\u2019s CTI Records. Like most of the label\u2019s output, his recordings placed a firm foot on each side of the market imposed boundary of \u201cjazz\u201d and popular forms. And while many artists of the 1970s made these associations – including Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and John McLaughlin\u2019s Mahavishnu Orchestra – CTI\u2019s approach was generally softer and gentler. James\u2019 first CTI release, O<\/em>ne (CTI Records, 1974), started this carefully through a cover of \u201cFeel Like Making Love.\u201d Gradually, he adopted further from pop and R&B influences with keyboards, synthesizers, and the electric bass taking on increased importance. By the late 1970s, this brought him significant critical acclaim, particularly with his song \u201cAngela,\u201d which served as the theme song to popular sitcom Taxi<\/em> (Paramount, 1979-1982) and All Around the Town<\/em> (Tappan Zee, 1980), which collected live versions of songs from the show. He would then form Fourplay with Lee Ritenour, Nathan East, and Harvey Mason. He was also subsequently sampled by many other artists. <\/p>\n\n\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=YN2–FJRVQ4
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