Angels Of Shanghai

Performer: Bob James
Producer: Jack Lee; Bob James
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Bob James (piano); Jack Lee (guitars); Nathan East (bass instrument); Harvey Mason, Sr. , Lewis Pragasam (drums); D.J. Zest (loops); The Angels. Additional personnel: Karen Han (erhu). With his easygoing keyboard style and genial compositions, Bob James virtually defines smooth jazz. ANGELS OF SHANGHAI, however, is something of a departure for him, as James fuses his sweetly lyrical style with elements of traditional Chinese folk music. He seamlessly melds the stylings of his core quartet (Harvey Mason, Jack Lee, Nathan East) with Asian modes, scales, and instrumentation (pipa, erhu, dizi) to create an atmospheric, coolly exotic, and occasionally funky sonic travelogue. And get ready to be amazed by the revamped version of "Angela," better known as "Theme From TAXI."

JazzTimes (p.117) - "[E]nhanced with the exotic sounds of a region where the pianist has performed many times and for which he obviously has affection."

Keyboardist Bob James is a man who has worn many musical hats. He began as a progressive-jazz pianist in the early 1960s (he even recorded for famed underground avant-garde label ESP). By the '70s, however, he'd incorporated electric keyboards and become a star in the burgeoning fusion genre, making records which would later be sampled by countless hip-hop artists. Along the way, he was also involved in the soundtracks for everything from SERPICO to the TV show TAXI, and worked as arranger and producer for Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, and others. In the '90s, James became even more popular as a member of the smooth-jazz supergroup Fourplay.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25