Sarah James, Jazz Singer and Songwriter, Performs at Jazz at Kitano NYC Wednesday 2.20.19

Sarah James Jazz Singer and Songwriter Performs at Jazz at Kitano NYC Wednesday 2.20.19

(photo by Janis Wilkins)

Singer and Poet Sarah James will bring her Trio to Jazz at Kitano Wednesday evening, February 20, 2019. Eclectic, swing-inspired songs will be performed, some of which have never been performed with a live audience before.

A singer who has kept a low profile over the years but who nonetheless continues to survive in the dense plethora of jazz singers who populate the New York club circuit, Ms. James resurfaces to perform her original material with a trio of New York’s finest musicians.

The night will feature John DiMartino on piano, Yoshi Waki on Bass and Tommy Campbell on the drums. DiMartino plays effortlessly, not a pianist who musicians call a guy with “a lot of chops” but with intuition, sensitivity, an almost spellbinding ability to get inside a song, create a mood and paint a musical picture.

Yoshi Waki on the bass is the quintessence of cool. A bass player who accompanies many singers of different styles, always playing the right groove with intelligence and heart. Known for his low key personality and ability to tune in to the musical needs of each bandleader, he is very much in demand as a sideman and collaborator.

Master drummer Tommy Campbell rounds out the trio with a style uniquely his. From be-bop to funk. from blues to modal Mr. Campbell leaves no doubt that the music will groove. Years on the road with many jazz greats, leading his own band of original music, he is especially tuned in to the songwriters' vision.

The music of Sarah James is a mix of blues, jazz and a funky kind of neon soul. Her CD’s are on her own label, Kilamanjaro Jazz, and can be found on her website www.sarahjames.com. She is also known for her poetry. Most of her poems are not in books, but rather recorded with improvised music.

A founding member of The American Tribal Ensemble, a loose conglomerate of 15 or so improvising jazz musicians and singers, she maintains an active interest in performing poetry. Along with Percy Johnston and Lorraine Lee, two New York poets, she recorded two CD’s in the ’80s ​ that were trailblazing efforts in the free jazz world. These can be found on her site and on iTunes under The American Tribal Ensemble.

The songs she will be performing are a long way from the freewheeling days of experimental jazz and poetry, but the core of her writing and creative output is still the same. Songs about love and loss, about disillusionment and redemption. James takes a poem or a lyric, and creates a video from it, composes music to accompany the poem and posts it on her youtube channel.

She also creates what she calls “poetry on everything”. She takes a poem or a song lyric and writes it across a painted canvas, across photos and various personal items like t-shirts, jeans, and bags.

Difficult to categorize, she enjoys the improvising life and also the very straight ahead demands of a working singer in the New York area. For the past thirteen years, she has been performing with The Betty Liste Trio locally at The Stony Hill Inn, a New Jersey landmark establishment, one of the few venues left in the New York area that have a nightclub atmosphere with elegant dining and dancing.

www.sarahjames.com

www.johndimartino.com

www.yoshiwaki.net

www.tommycampbell.com

Sets at Jazz at Kitano are at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm.

Cover charge is $18.00/ $20 food/bev min.

www.kitano.com

6 Park Ave, East 38th St New York, NY 10016

Reservations: 212-885-7000