Singer, songwriter and lifelong fan José James honors the
great Bill Withers with the September 28 release of Lean On Me (Blue Note), a
loving tribute album that features 12 of the legendary singer and songwriter’s
most undeniable and soulful songs in honor of his 80th birthday year. Lean On
Me was produced by Blue Note president Don Was and recorded in Capitol's
legendary Studio B with a dream team band: Pino Palladino (bass), Kris Bowers
(keys), Brad Allen Williams (guitar), and Nate Smith (drums), along with
special guests including vocalist Lalah Hathaway, saxophonist Marcus
Strickland, and trumpeter Takuya Kuroda.
James is often celebrated for his genre-blending— his
prolific output over the past decade has crisscrossed jazz, R&B, soul,
hip-hop and indie rock—but this project is different. “Bill wrote the songs you
love your whole life,” he says. “I didn't want to put hip-hop beats under his
music or deconstruct it with 10-minute bebop solos. There was only one right
move here: show up with a killer band, run the tape, capture the vibe. We just
played the songs.”
That's also how all of this began, over the past few years,
with James adding more and more Withers hits to his live set until he wound up
with a massive medley that felt “like the best kind of church—people crying,
dancing, singing and shouting. It was powerful,” he says. At the same time,
James was reeling from the deaths of so many of his musical heroes. He couldn't
shake the urge that he ought to celebrate that living icon among us, Withers,
whose influence is everywhere and yet whose name is too often left out of the
canon. Along the way James' silken voice has only gotten richer, warmer, and
more resonant—a perfect delivery system for Withers' humane wisdom.
Lean on Me was born in late 2017 as a touring project but an
album was always the goal. James, who has created masterful tributes to Billie
Holiday and John Coltrane, went full ethnomusicologist in choosing the songs,
poring over Withers' nine LPs, the 2009 Still Bill documentary, and some untold
number of YouTube clips for clues. When he had his short list, he still doubted
himself: “I reached out to Don to ask, ‘Do you think these songs would be
cool?’ Don's like, ‘I dunno. Let's ask Bill.’ I felt like: ‘Oh my God, what
have I done?’” But Withers gave his blessing over dinner at Hollywood's storied
Musso & Frank's. For James it was a bucket list moment.
“Meeting Bill Withers was one of the personal highlights of
my life,” says James. “He's a total genius and one of the coolest people I've
ever met. I learned more in that one hour with him than I learned at music
school or a decade's worth of live shows. We all adore him and any songwriter
worth their salt knows that Bill is up there with Paul McCartney, Stevie
Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Carole King, Leonard Cohen, Bruce
Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Elton John, Billy Joel – he's in the
pantheon of greats. Plus he's an amazing singer and developed a sophisticated sound
that blends funk, singer-songwriter, blues, R&B and gospel. I showed him my
list of his songs and he absolutely loved it. I think he's happy that his music
still has a place in the lives and hearts of people worldwide and that we all
want to celebrate his life and talent.”
Withers retired decades ago, but this band reminds us how
much he's still with us. Part of that is familiarity—this is largely the lineup
from James' breakout 2013 Blue Note debut No Beginning No End—but no amount of
chops or mindmeld explains the earnestness they call up for Lean on Me. “You
have to believe every word of it,” says James. “With Bill, there's no space to
not be genuine. You need to be comfortable with your emotional self, your
masculine and feminine side, and hang it all out there.”
José James – Tour Dates:
Aug. 29 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 9 – Jazz à la Villette – Paris, France
Sept. 10 – Union Chapel – London, UK
Sept. 11 – Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, Belgium
Sept. 12 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sept. 13 – Heimathafen – Berlin, Germany
Sept. 22 – Monterey Jazz Festival – Monterey, CA
Oct. 19 – Jefferson Center – Roanoke, VA
Oct. 20 – The Hamilton – Washington DC
Oct. 26 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
Oct. 31 – Billboard Live – Osaka, Japan
Nov. 1 – Billboard Live – Tokyo, Japan
Nov. 2 – Billboard Live – Tokyo, Japan
Nov. 8 – Garfield Theatre – La Jolla, CA
Nov. 15 – Arts Commons – Calgary, AB
Jan. 25 – Berklee Performance Center – Boston, MA
Jan. 26-Feb. 2 – Blue Note at Sea
Mar. 15 – Chicago Symphony Center – Chicago, IL
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