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34-491: BJ4 is the fourth album by jazz pianist Bob James . Released in 1977, the album charted at number three on the Jazz Album Charts. This would be his last CTI album before starting his label Tappan Zee Records, named for one of the tracks on this album. All tracks composed by Bob James; except where noted. Brass and Woodwinds Strings Bob James (musician) Robert McElhiney James (born December 25, 1939)

68-515: A Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance . His collaboration with Earl Klugh , One on One , won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1980 and has sold over one million copies. Another collaboration with Klugh, Cool , (Warner Bros., 1992) was nominated for a Grammy, as was Joined at the Hip (Warner Bros., 1996) with Kirk Whalum , recorded Flesh and Bone in 1995 and another solo album, Joyride (Warner Bros., 1999). Joined at

102-584: A New York yellow cab. The performances were documented on the album All Around the Town (Tappan Zee, 1980), with a cover of James at the wheel of a taxi. James turned from smooth jazz to classical music to record Rameau (1984), his interpretations of Baroque-period composer Jean-Philippe Rameau . In later albums, he interpreted the work of two more Baroque composers, J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti . A year after Rameau , he collaborated with David Sanborn on Double Vision ( Warner Bros , 1986). The album won

136-620: A brief demo song, or as long as several weeks if an album or film score is being recorded. Musicians' associations and unions often set out the remuneration terms. Some musicians may get the minimum scale rate set out by the union. Heavily in-demand session musicians may earn much more. The union rates may vary based on whether it is a music recording versus a film/television recording. While the film/television rates may be lower, there may also be residual payments to compensate them for reruns, DVD sales, streaming usage, and so on. Session musicians often have to bring their own instruments, such as in

170-474: A couple of personnel changes, with guitarist Larry Carlton replacing Ritenour and then Chuck Loeb replacing Carlton. Fourplay celebrated its 25th anniversary with the album Silver ( Heads Up , 2015). James's music, especially his early albums, has been sampled often, with his songs " Nautilus " and " Take Me to the Mardi Gras " leading the field. "Nautilus" was sampled by Eric B. & Rakim in "Let

204-654: A job in the piano bar at the Steads Ranch resort in Estes Park. While in college at Michigan, James played free jazz with musicians in Ann Arbor and Detroit. In 1962, his band entered the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival , where the judges included Henry Mancini and Quincy Jones . The trio entered the competition not expecting to win but wanting to provide some avant-garde music in a contest field that

238-462: A modern-day scene, e.g. "In The Garden" was based on Pachelbel's Canon in D and " Night on Bald Mountain " was a cover of Modest Mussorgsky 's composition of the same name. After three solo albums, James founded his own record label, Tappan Zee. Immediately thereafter, he cut a disco version of the Theme to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , a 45 of which was included with the soundtrack LP, and recorded

272-528: A nuanced sense of the playing styles and idioms used in different genres. For example, a sax player who mainly plays jazz needs to know the R&;B style if they are asked to improvise a solo in an R&B song. Similarly, a bass player asked to improvise a walking bassline in a rockabilly song needs to know the stock lines and cliches used in this genre. Regardless of the styles of music session musicians play, some qualities are universal: punctuality in arriving at

306-512: A part to fill a last-minute time slot. In the 1960s, Los Angeles was considered the top recording destination in the United States — consequently studios were constantly booked around the clock, and session time was highly sought after and expensive. Songs had to be recorded quickly in the fewest possible takes. In this environment, Los Angeles producers and record executives had little patience for needless expense or wasted time and depended on

340-419: A solo album. The result, One (CTI, 1974), contained the song " Feel Like Making Love ", with which Roberta Flack had already had a hit. James had been hired to play piano for the song on Roberta Flack's album two weeks before recording a version of his own, using the same band. Radio stations played both and contributed to the commercial success of One . The album was notable for adapting classical music to

374-405: A sub-specialization within trumpet session players is "high note specialist." The working schedule for session musicians often depends on the terms set out by musicians' unions or associations, as these organizations typically set out rules on performance schedules (e.g., regarding the length of sessions and breaks). The length of employment may be as short as a single day, in the case of recording

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408-819: A teacher at Christian College in Columbia, Missouri, with more music instruction during high school from Harold Lickey, conductor of the Marshall High School Band and Orchestra. Apart from the piano, James learned to play trumpet, timpani , and percussion. From 1950 to 1956, he competed in the Missouri State Fair piano competitions and received several blue ribbons. James attended the University of Michigan , but during his second year transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. At Berklee his roommate

442-536: A wider range of musical situations, genres, and styles. Examples of "doubling" include double bass and electric bass , acoustic guitar and mandolin , piano and accordion , and saxophone and other woodwind instruments. Session musicians are used when musical skills are needed on a short-term basis. Typically, session musicians are used by recording studios to provide backing tracks for other musicians for recording sessions and live performances, recording music for advertising , film, television, and theatre . In

476-472: Is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi . According to VICE , music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop . Among his most well known recordings are " Nautilus ", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of " Take Me to

510-450: The 2000s, the terms "session musician" and "studio musician" were synonymous, though in past decades, "studio musician" meant a musician associated with a single record company , recording studio or entertainment agency . Session musicians rarely achieve mainstream fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders . However, top session musicians are well-known within the music industry . Some have become publicly recognized, such as

544-449: The Hip will be reissued with a 2019 Remaster on evosound. James was looking for a bass player while recording the album Grand Piano Canyon (Warner Bros., 1990) with drummer Harvey Mason and guitarist Lee Ritenour . Mason and Ritenour suggested Nathan East . After working with them for a while, James suggested they form a band, which resulted in the contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay . The band has recorded over ten albums and has seen

578-515: The Mardi Gras ". James was born on Christmas Day of 1939 in Marshall, Missouri , United States. He started playing the piano at age four. His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, discovered that he had perfect pitch . At age seven, James began to study with R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College . At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer,

612-581: The Mardi Gras" incorporates in its first four measures a bell-and-drum pattern that is one of hip hop's basic break beats . It has been sampled by Crash Crew 's "Breaking Bells (Take Me to the Mardi Gras)", Run-D.M.C.'s "Peter Piper", the Beastie Boys ' "Hold it Now, Hit it", Missy Elliott 's "Work It", will.i.am 's "I Got it from My Mama", " This Is Me (Urban Remix)" by Dream , "I Want You" by Common , and "Take It Back" by Wu-Tang Clan . "Westchester Lady"

646-627: The Rhythm Hit 'em", Run-D.M.C. 's "Beats to the Rhyme", Ghostface Killah 's "Daytona 500", DJ Jazzy Jeff 's "Jazzie's Groove", Jeru the Damaja 's "My Mind Spray", Freddie Gibbs 's "Extradite", and "Farandole (L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2)". It appears on the Funcrusher Plus LP from Company Flow and Nangdo 's "Nikes". The bassline from "Nautilus" appears in "Children's Story" by Slick Rick . "Take Me to

680-623: The Wizard", in his 2009 single "Spell of Love", which was remixed later by DJ Sneak . The track "Tappan Zee", named after the bridge over a wide section of the Hudson River that James regularly crossed on his way to the studio, was sampled in Arrested Development's "People Everyday (Metamorphis Remix)". In the past, James has stated that he had "a lot of respect" for the creative process of hip hop production, only being unhappy when his music

714-568: The Wrecking Crew , the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records . Session musicians may play in a wide range of genres or specialize in a specific genre (e.g., country music or jazz ). Some session musicians with a classical music background may focus on film score recordings. Even within a specific genre specialization, there may be even more focused sub-specializations. For example,

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748-461: The album Touchdown (Tappan Zee, 1978). Among the songs on the album was "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi . James provided all the music for Taxi and collected some of its music, including "Angela", on The Genie: Themes & Variations from the TV Series Taxi (1983). When he toured in 1979, he was supported by a marketing campaign that included posters of him at the wheel of

782-431: The case of guitar, bass, woodwinds, and brass. It is expected that studio musicians will have well-maintained professional-tier instruments. In some cases, larger or heavier instruments may be provided by the recording studio, such as a grand piano or Hammond organ and Leslie speaker . In certain cases, a session musicians may bring some instruments or musical gear and use them with larger instruments that are provided by

816-655: The era, the two groups of musicians in Memphis, both the Memphis Boys and the musicians who backed Stax/Volt recordings, and the Funk Brothers in Detroit, who played on many Motown recordings. At the time, multi-tracking equipment, though common, was less elaborate, and instrumental backing tracks were often recorded "hot" with an ensemble playing live in the studio. Musicians had to be available "on call" when producers needed

850-427: The service of reliable standby musicians who could be counted on to record in a variety of styles with minimal practice or takes, and deliver hits on short order. A studio band is a musical ensemble that is in the employ of a recording studio for the purpose of accompanying recording artists who are customers of the studio. The use of studio bands was more common during the 1960s with groups such Booker T. &

884-683: The session; rhythmic and intonation precision; ability to play with good ensemble and excellent blending with the other performers; willingness to take direction from bandleaders , music directors , and music producers ; and having good musical taste in regards to choices with musical ornaments and musical phrasing . During the 1950s and 1960s, session players were usually active in local recording scenes concentrated in places such as Los Angeles , New York City , Nashville , Memphis , Detroit , and Muscle Shoals . Each local scene had its circle of "A-list" session musicians, such as The Nashville A-Team that played on numerous country and rock hits of

918-428: The studio, such as a synthesizer player, who might bring rack-mounted synth modules and connect them to the studio's MIDI controller stage piano . Similarly, if the studio has a selection of well-known bass amplifiers , and speaker cabinets, a bass player may only have to bring basses and effect units . The requirement to read different types of music notation, improvise and/or " play by ear " varies according to

952-672: The summer of 1955, at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, James played for dancing and occasional jam sessions with the Bob Falkenhainer Quartet on the Governor McClurg Excursion Boat in the evenings. He recalls that "during the day we had free time and I became a proficient water skier that summer!" At age 16, a solo engagement followed in the summer when James traveled with good friend Ben Swinger to Colorado and ended up with

986-570: The type of recording session and the genres of music being performed. Classical musicians and many jazz and popular music musicians are expected to read music notation and do sight-reading . In jazz, rock, and many popular music genres, performers may be expected to read chord charts and improvise accompaniment and solos. In country music, performers may be expected to read Nashville Number System charts and improvise accompaniment and solos. In many traditional and folk music styles, performers are expected to be able to play by ear. Session musicians need

1020-525: Was hired as piano accompanist for jazz singer Sarah Vaughan . He reunited with Quincy Jones when Jones asked him to do some arranging for studio sessions. Creed Taylor , producer and founder of CTI Records , was at the sessions and hired James to work for CTI as a producer, arranger, and studio musician . In the 1970s, James worked on albums by Gabor Szabo , Milt Jackson , Stanley Turrentine , Grover Washington, Jr. (notably on Mister Magic ), and Maynard Ferguson . Creed Taylor invited James to record

1054-1295: Was plagiarized or illegally sampled. James has begun to sample his own music, as shown on the composition "Submarine". He has also been collaborating in recent years with DJ Jazzy Jeff , Ghostface Killah , 9th Wonder , and Slick Rick . Singles With Patti Austin With Chet Baker With George Benson With Ron Carter With Hank Crawford With Maynard Ferguson With Michael Franks With Eric Gale With Jeff Golub and Avenue Blue With Quincy Jones With Hubert Laws With Harvey Mason With Ralph MacDonald With Idris Muhammad With Doc Powell With Lee Ritenour With Gabor Szabo With Stanley Turrentine With Grover Washington Jr. With Kirk Whalum With John Zorn With others Studio musician Many session musicians specialize in playing common rhythm section instruments such as guitar , piano , bass , or drums . Others are specialists, and play brass , woodwinds , and strings . Many session musicians play multiple instruments, which lets them play in

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1088-433: Was primarily straight ahead music. To the trio's surprise, they won the competition. Not long after, Jones signed James to an album deal with Mercury Records . Mercury released James's first album, Bold Conceptions (1963), a somewhat free jazz exploration that was produced by Quincy Jones and that differed from the smooth jazz for which he would later become known. In New York City, James worked as an arranger and

1122-507: Was sampled by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince in " Here We Go Again ", as well as by DJ T-Rock and Squashy Nice in their song "Evolution". James's 1981 song " Sign of the Times " was sampled by Warren G and Nate Dogg in their 1994 single " Regulate ". His 1980 song "Snowbird Fantasy" was sampled by French house musician and Le Knight Club member Eric Chedeville , also Known as "Rico

1156-537: Was saxophonist Nick Brignola . His first professional music job was when he was eight years old, playing for a tap dance class at Mercy Academy. During his adolescence, James's music career proliferated. Early jobs included being a member of the Earle Parsons Dance Band (c. 1952–55) which played various engagements around the Marshall area. During this time, he penned his first dance band arrangement. During

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