Blackmagic

Two years after the release of his impressive debut, José James returns with the excellent and engaging ‘Blackmagic’. The buzz has been building for some time around this record, although the release date (as well as a number of concert bookings) had to be put back after one of the lead producers was dissatisfied with the material and pulled out all the stops to prevent the music from surfacing. Recruiting some of the biggest name producers of the minute, ‘Blackmagic’ is, on the surface, a more ‘contemporary’ proposition than Mr James’ debut. A good example is ‘Code’, the opener, which combines sensuous vocals with an earthy, resonating bassline and a warm Native Tongues hip-hop feel. You feel that Jose James is taking a step away from his last jazz-centred effort to a more experimental and multiform one.