You have to be pretty good to be able to take the AB stage 13 (!) times. And you have to be in good hands to be able to gloriously reinterpret the work of über-icons such as Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Erykah Badu or Bill Withers. The name that connects both axioms? José James!

This spring saw the release of his brand new album, “1978,” in the first place a reference to the year of his birth. Second, a fat nod to the music of that time period - think: Marvin Gaye, Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson - which fiercely influenced him. '1978' is also fiercely politically inspired. The lead single '38th & Chicago' thus refers to the intersection in his hometown of Minneapolis where George Floyd was murdered. Jose James: “That intersection is about three blocks from my mom's house.”....

Notable guest on “1978”: our national pride Baloji who can be heard on the single “Dark Side Of The Sun. Coincidentally a night off that night Baloji?