Cool (Bob James and Earl Klugh album)
| Bob James | |
|---|---|
 James in Heydar Aliyev Palace, Baku Jazz Festival, 2015
| |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert McElhiney James |
| Born |
December 25, 1939 Marshall, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger, record 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 James (born December 25, 1939) is an American Grammy Award-winning jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela," the theme song for the TV show Taxi. He is most famous for standards such as "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Heads", "Night Crawler", "Touchdown", "Blue Lick", "Sign Of the Times", "Spunky", "Marco Polo", "Courtship" and "Just One Thing". Music from his first seven 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. His elder sister's name is Katherine.
He started playing the piano at age 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.
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 learned to 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."
James initially attended the University of Michigan and began earning his bachelor's and his master's degrees in music. However, during the first semester of his sophomore year, James transferred to Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts. During college at Berklee College of Music, James's roommate was Nick Brignola, who has become one of the great baritone saxophone jazz artists.
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Wikipedia