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Sea
of Tranquility
May 2006
"West coast guitarist Gregory James has been seeking out and exploring new
musical territory for more than twenty years and the latest release...Come
To
Me certainly proves to be no exception. The music could be considered contemporary
jazz but he successfully blends jazz roots with a veritable melange of r&b, Afro-Cuban,
flamenco and Eastern influences to create a sound that is fresh, new and generally
difficult to categorize.
'...The real strength
of this CD is the sheer size of their sonic landscapes. Many of the
songs are layered and filled out with cellos, violins, flutes and even
turntables to create just the right texture and mood....The track Alphabet
Town is a standout at almost 7 minutes, featuring a funky backbeat
complete with turntables, violin, tablas and sax while Catie Murphy
reads from poet T.S. Eliot's Rhapsody on a Windy Night.
There are quite a few numbers which highlight James' technical prowesson
on the
acoustic guitar and songs like St. Alison and the brilliant
ensemble work in the John Coltrane-ish vibe of Chant Odun give
the listener
a great taste of his playing abilities. The funny thing with this disc
is, although it's James' name on the marquee you never get the feeling
that this is anything less than a true band effort. It's not about
his own solos, and he's got the chops to burn, as much as it is about
placing the emphasis on his steller support cast and the songs themselves. Listen to Come To Me and marvel in music that celebrates cultural
diversity, crosses borders and highlights top notch musicianship."
JazzReview
August 2005
"Bring back Elvis! This funky new CD...isn't all together straight jazz
and not yet all together world music. The Gregory James Band incorporates Brazil,
Afro-Cuban, Gypsy Flamenco and The UK (especially the Liverpool scene) into Come
To Me. It could be the album of the year in many ciricles.
Musicians on this album
(there are 29) have all fine-tuned their craft in their individual
field, whether it be the DJ Fly and his vinyl to Baron Shul with his
baritone and tenor sax scattered all throughout...
'Let's get Elvis before
he represents Dial Soap!' is a message in Jewel Silver (Bring
Back Elvis). Beat poet Craig Easley reads/sings...it works extermely
well. Excellent subtle tabla work by Jason Lewis here. Another song,
Chant Odun, which Gregory James plays some great Brazillian
style runs with Benny Rietveld provides us with programming extraordinaire.
This album can sit really in any music store category whether it is
Jazz, World, Brazillian or Flamenco. Gregory James and his all-star
cast have put together an excellent album. There is something on here
for everyone whether it is the smooth sax of Rita Thies on Intermezzo or the beat poetry of Craig Easley and Catie Murphy. In the liner notes
Gregory James proclaims that 'Love Is All'. All I have is love for
this album. This is a 2004/2005 must have. "
Mountain
Express
May 2004
"At age 15, when most kids are playing video games, jazz guitarist Gregory
James was playing with jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. James would later team
up with everyone from Ray Charles to Van Morrison...recently, he joined bassist
Benny Reitveld (Santana) to unleash the album Come To Me..."
MetroBeat
May 2004
"Gregory James visits Greenville this week with his trio. Combining elements
of
bebop
and
rock
he
learned
in
San
Francisco
in
the
psychedelic '60s with bossa nova, North Indian classical music and Afro-Cuban
grooves, his eclectic music could justly be called world jazz."
Jazztimes
July/August 2003
"Gregory James also tries conceptually daring things on Come to Me...he
can play with depth and conviction"
Flamenco
Connection
Summer 2003
CD REVIEW "James' music is a vibrant melting pot of musicians,
musical influences and instrumental sounds. As varied as the music is from
one track
to the next, the overall feel is perfectly cohesive. There is everything here
from tasteful Flamenco guitar to bits of recited poetry - all held together
by a tightly grooving world-class cast of musicians -the result is mind expanding
and category defying. A true pan"
Jazziz
March 2002
CD REVIEW "San Francisco guitarist Gregory James displays
a remarkable blend of influences and styles on his latest CD, Reincarnation...Craig
Easley's spoken-word vocals drive the hip-hop influenced For The Ride,
while keyboardist Peter Horvath pays homage to Herbie Hancock on the funky
jazz/fusion of Brain Melter. Drummer Deszon Claiborne sets a shuffling
pace on the Wayne Shorter standard Nefertiti for the classical
nuances of violinist Jenny Scheinman. Strings, percussion, and even
turntables
appear intermittently throughout the disc, but the two most important
ingredients are James' tasteful nylon string runs and the overall brilliance
of Kai Eckhardt, former bassist for John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell.
On the title track, the bassist sets up James' melodic lines with equal
parts taste, space and imagination."
Jazz
Steps
January 2002
CD REVIEW "Everything he's [Gregory James] recorded has had
a soulfulness, a willingness for the music to go where the spirit leads.
Reincarnation has a rich humanity, a spirituality amply evident
amidst the colorful soundscape. Gregory James is reunited with bassist
Kai Eckhardt (John McLaughlin, Steve Smith) here, not only as rhythmic
and harmonic foil, but as a producer of Reincarnation. An amazing
musician, Eckhardt's vision and appetite for funk seems to have grown
even since their last pairing, on James' The Search (1998)."
Download
full review
93.7fm
radio interview
February 7, 2002
Interview with Linda Romano
LR:"I had never heard
spoken word with music like that...It is a hard thing to do, and it just
seems so natural."
GJ: "The inspiration
came from our live gigs. I think there's two ways of 'composing' modern
improvised music. Some people know exactly what they want to hear and
can be very dictatorial in terms of you play this, and you play that
or you play within this framework. I always say that if I knew how it
was going to sound I wouldn't have to make the music.
Kai and I have been playing
clubs in duet format for years, and playing at 26Mix, Kai had introduced
me to DJ Fly, who is more than a DJ, he a virtuoso musician. Craig Easley
and I have been friends for years he used to read at gigs years ago. It's
a bit like a repertory theater. Catie Murphy had not read before and I
had a feeling that she might be good at it. Catie's brilliance, in particular,
is that she doesn't try to become dramatic or act. She reads very simply
and plainly and the power of the words come through."
26
Mix
September – October, 2001
Benny Rietveld, the bassist for the Carlos Santana band, has been performing
with the Gregory James Band at 26 Mix. Check calendar of gigs
for upcoming performances.
San
Francisco Chronicle
Friday, August 3, 2001
'The Gregory James Trio played to a full house
at the North End Caffe.'
KFOG
Morning Show
Wednesday August 1, 2001
Gregory James performed 'Between Two Worlds' with
Beat poet Craig Easley reading his poem 'Schizophrenia' and Catie Murphy
accompanying with viola and reading from Shakespear's
KPOO
-A Morning Cup of Tanya Eclectic Jazz
Thursday July 19, 2001
Tonja Sellars interviews Gregory James about his
upcoming release, Reincarnation and North Beach Jazz performance.
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