New York-via-Minneapolis singer José James was once comfortable being the oddball talent of the contemporary jazz scene, an unknown quantity in a world with plenty of known ones; “When it's all said and done, jazz with a capital J is where I'm coming from,” he told Billboard in 2010. “Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk-- that's what I really studied when I was a teenager and what really fueled my passion.” While that loyalty manifested itself in releases like 2008’s The Dreamer and 2010’s Blackmagic-- two albums that showcased James’ penchant for genre-stretching while sprinkling in more straightforward covers-- his sound has always been hard to peg.
For his new record No Beginning No End, he’s staying true to that wanderlust, enlisting musicians like bassist Pino Palladino (who famously helped construct neosoul gems like D’Angelo’s Voodoo as well as Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun) and contemporary jazz star Robert Glasper as well as Franco-Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra. While he’s always been one to try stuff out-- he successfully collaborated with Flying Lotus on Blackmagic--on No Beginning No End he finds a way to make an eclectic approach feel unified and whole.
James sings with a steely grace that does in fact recall D’Angelo, a quality only reinforced by Palladino’s fingerprint on songs like the grooving opener “It’s All Over Your Body” and the back half’s soul clap “Make It Right”. But James’ more detached voice isn’t the weapon that D’Angelo’s proves to be, if you’re looking at No Beginning No End as a spiritual cousin of Voodoo or Mama’s Gun. While James’ record prizes overarching vibe over song-to-song substance, it’s more subdued and, in a sense, more unpredictable: the opener cedes to the hand drum cool-out “Sword + Gun”, which builds to the straightforward pop reach on the record, the taut “Trouble”, which in turn slides into Robert Glasper and James’ capital J jazz tribute “Vanguard”, a tribute to the Greenwich Village institution where the song was devised.
Though that sounds like a lot of hopping around-- the poppy, percussive midalbum standout “Come to My Door” is another good example-- No Beginning No End works smoothly as a suite, which is a testament to James shape-shifting nature as well as the session musicians' willingness to stay in a support role. While one could see the temptation to push further into a pop crossover sweet-spot, No Beginning No End contains few heavy brush strokes. Though James’ meandering gets the best of him on the slow shuffle “Bird of Space” and the never-quite-gets-there “Untitled” echo “Do You Feel”, even when he misses his low-key restraint retains its charm.
Though No Beginning No End succeeds in its laid-back approach, make no mistake that James is seeking to bust out of the NPR Jazz world and into the ears of new audiences. In March, he'll play Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Presents' Brooklyn hype thermometer (also playing that month: Sky Ferreira, How to Dress Well, Savages, Django Django), just a 20-minute train ride from the Village Vanguard but a world away. With previous releases, he's earned his heroic acclaim in the tough, tried-and-trusted lanes of contemporary jazz. With No Beginning No End, he's built his own road out.
