José James, known as the jazz artist for the hip-hop generation, will bring holiday tunes to his Hong Kong debut at Café Carlyle
Imagine the combined style of the expressive Billie Holiday, “Prince of Motown” Marvin Gaye and the soulful John Coltrane—those are the greats that influenced New York-based jazz vocalist José James into the musician he is today. Known for his innovative approach, James weaves together traditional and contemporary jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, pop, rock and spoken word in his music. And he calls it “jazz with swag”.
James’ unique style has earnt him accolades even early on in his career, including the L’Académie du Jazz Grand Prix in 2010 and the Edison Award in 2013, two of Europe’s most prestigious music awards. The singer then shot to fame when he recorded two songs for the soundtrack of Fifty Shades Darker (2017), an album that also featured Taylor Swift and John Legend, among others.
Now, he is coming to Hong Kong for the first time to perform at Carlyle & Co’s Café Carlyle from December 21 to 24. Tatler catches up with James ahead of his first visit to the city to talk all things music.
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