Bob James (musician)
| Bob James | |
|---|---|
James in Heydar Aliyev Palace, Baku Jazz Festival, 2015
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert McElhiney James |
| Born |
December 25, 1939 Marshall, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger, producer |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Labels | CTI, Tappan Zee, Koch, Columbia, Warner Bros., Red Disc |
| Associated acts | Earl Klugh, David Sanborn, Fourplay, Nathan East |
| Website | Official website |
Robert McElhiney "Bob" James (born December 25, 1939, Marshall, Missouri) is an American Grammy Award-winning jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote the theme song for the TV show Taxi. Music from his first three albums has often been sampled and has contributed to the formation of hip hop.
Robert McElhiney James was born on Christmas Day 1939 in Marshall, Missouri to Albert Lamkin James and Alice (née McElhiney) James. He has an elder sister, Katherine. He started playing the piano at the early age of 4. His first piano teacher, Sister Mary Elizabeth, who taught at Mercy Academy, a local Catholic school, discovered that he had perfect pitch. At age seven, James began to study with Mrs. R. T. Dufford, a teacher at Missouri Valley College. He called her "an excellent teacher who also taught fundamentals of theory and harmony."
His first professional music job was when he was eight years old and playing for a tap dance class at Mercy Academy. "As I recall, I was paid 25 cents, but was eventually let go because my inability to keep the beat over the noise of the tapping."
At age 15, James continued his studies with Franklin Launer, 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 can also play trumpet, timpani, and percussion. From 1950–56, he competed at the Missouri State Fair piano competitions and walked away with several blue ribbons. He remembered that "cows were being judged at adjacent buildings." Other early jobs included being a member of the Earle Parsons Dance Band (c. 1952–55) which played various engagements around the Marshall area. It was during this time that he penned his first dance band arrangement, "Once in a While".
During the summer of 1955, at Lake of the Ozarks, 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 a job in the piano bar at the Steads Ranch resort in Estes Park.
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Wikipedia