Bob James Trio With Special Guest Andrey Chmut

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2023 Concert Series sponsored by

One of the biggest stars of smooth jazz.

—JazzTimes

From his early days in Marshall, Missouri, prolific, best-selling, and Grammy-winning pianist Bob James—one of the fathers of smooth and contemporary jazz—has made music that has captivated audiences around the world.

Discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival in 1962, James recorded his first solo album, Bold Conceptions, that same year for Mercury Records. Dozens of albums and innumerable awards—including two Grammys—would follow across the next six decades. James honed his skills working with Creed Taylor and performing on albums by Hank Crawford and Grover Washington Jr., among others. While with Taylor’s vaunted progressive jazz record label CTI, James found great success overseeing significant hits for Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Maynard Ferguson, and Kenny Loggins.

In 1974, James recorded One, which launched his long career as a solo performer and helped him set the standard for the smooth jazz sound in the late 1970s. His latest album, Feel Like Making LIVE!, was released in 2022.