A jazz sextet rich in talent
Bernie Sanders would probably dig the title of David James’ great new record, “Billionaire Blues,” and maybe even the title tune, a slow strut with wry lyrics and a tasty blend of Ellington- flavored horn parts, sweet- and-sour riffs and prime improvised solos.
It’s one of many pleasing original numbers on the debut recording of James’ sextet, Good People, Son, which artfully merges and showcases the instrumental voices of six versatile Bay Area musicians: James on guitar and vocals, clarinetist Beth Custer, trombonist Alan Williams, drummer Jan Jackson, bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and Dina Maccabee on viola.
It’s also the first album led by and solely featuring compositions by James, a grooving guitarist who’s played in rock, soul and improvisational noise bands, toured and recorded with Spearhead ( he played on Zap Mama and Stephen Marley records produced by Spearhead’s Michael Franti), and can currently be heard with the Beth Custer Ensemble and Afrofunk Experience.
“I’m a guitar player, but this album is about the tunes, and this group of musicians I’m blessed to be able to play with and write for,” says James, 48, who’s celebrating the release of “Billionaire Blues” with GPS on Feb. 25 at the Make Out Room on 22nd Street in San Francisco.
A self- taught musician who loves Mingus, Ellington and Monk — and a guitarist who has gone through serious Jimi Hendrix and Bill Frisell phases — James writes tunes that draw on dancing Ethiopian grooves, carnival waltzes and swinging cartoon melodies. He plays fuzz- distorted guitar on a reggae number called “Rubber Boots,” takes sly harmonic detours in the blues and sings a Philly soul-inspired tune called “Dimes” (“You’ve got a pocketful of dimes in a penny arcade,” goes the chorus) that could play on pop radio.
“I follow each tune to its own place,” says James, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland. His “Wag the Puppy,” with its jaunty Chaplinesque feel, began as a vehicle for Custer.
“That was just a melody that seems right for clarinet. It was a clarinet- driven piece, but when I sat down to work it out, it sounded to me like a Raymond Scott kind of thing,” adds James, referring to the composer whose dizzying music brought the Looney Tunes cartoons to life.
“Billionaire Blues” isn’t a 12- bar blues song but rather “a bluesy notion that kind of goes its own couple of ways,” says James.
James is also going a couple of ways, now getting interested in writing for theater and dance, which was spurred by watching Custer work.
“Being in her band, hearing what she comes up with for silent movies or live dance or theater, I’ve really learned a lot about the process from her,” says James, who has a strong presence on the Beth Custer Ensemble’s new CD, “For the Grace of Any Man.”
The ensemble’s release is being celebrated at Freight & Salvage on Wednesday, Feb. 17. In addition to Custer’s music, it features her take on two tunes from James’ new CD, which was funded by a grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music: “Black Ops” and “Wag the Puppy.”
For more information, go to www.heydavidjames.com, www.freightandsalvage.org.