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Texas Platters Rhythm & Beats
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Bruce James Soultet
Yours, Mine, and the Truth
Massaging the 88 and growling Tom Waits g...
Bruce James Soultet
Yours, Mine, and the Truth
Massaging the 88 and growling Tom Waits gravel, local piano man Bruce James leads his fivepiece Soultet on a smoky sojourn of classic soul that gives three sides of the story: Yours, Mine, and the Truth. Recorded live in an eight-hour session, the originals nod to Donny Hathaway and Dr. John, while Les McCann gets the cover treatment on a jazzy marathon of "Compared to What." ***
BY THOMAS FAWCETT
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A perfect stranger, at least here (in Italy), puts his signature on an excellent white vintage soul work, between funk, jazz and something more
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.
<>. Bruce James'
word, and speak....
<>. Bruce James'
word, and speaking of truth, we have no idea who he is. We know that he popped
out like a fireball shot out by that eternal music carnival that is Austin, Texas and
that this is probably his 3rd work. It's not a big deal, except the fact that if even his
other works are at this level, then we might have missed out on something. In
random order pianist, songwriter and singer, Bruce James is the blackest among
white people of the music scene in the live music capital of the world. Black, to get
an understanding, like Van Morrison and Joe Cocker, but also Greg Allman or
Stevie Winwood. The Irishman would have not been able to do better in the
reinterpretation of a standard like "People get ready", a not easy choice for this
(ambitious and magnificent ) mister no one. James performs it like if it was written
for him. There are no other cover tunes on this cd, full instead of ideas, groove and
performed like there's no tomorrow. Eight tunes recorded live by James and his
eclectic band, with two guitars, bass, drums and percussion. A "combo" of people
that can find each other with their eyes closed, the (today) perfect combo for James'
songs, built around memorable rhythm phrases that open up to brilliant interplay
escape-ways of improvisation between guitars and piano. Tunes that flirt with a
certain kind of jazz-rock spiced with funk, with James' piano recalling the flowing
brightness of Joe Sample (Gravity), or that get tangled in the nocturnal embrace of
a soul ballad of jazz derivation (the splendid 13 minutes and some of Prefer it Black
and White). And if the declared tutelary numens, actually more declared than
perceived, are the fathers of soul, James seems to have embraced the lesson of
white people that in the 70s regained possession of black music. More Traffic than
Sly then, in the foaming impetuosity of the funk-jazz tunes like the jammed
Compared to What, and more Joe Cocker than Otis in the nervous Virgin Threads,
where James is Cocker and Leon Russell at the same time. But it's not over yet,
because the almost 9 minutes of Crazy to Think, the final track, are the most intense
in the entire album. A magnificent piano ballad played in solitude, almost an
outtake of Waits from the archives of Asylum, that reopens the games of an album
that appeared to be "only" an excellent work of white soul.
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Yours, Mine, and the Truth
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“There’s something magical about a piano played with feeling. Bruce James provides that emotion on t...“There’s something magical about a piano played with feeling. Bruce James provides that emotion on the keys and pairs it with an almost spiritual voice on Yours, Mine and the Truth. Recorded live in eight hours, the album brims with rock, gospel, R’B and soul tracks all featuring that captivating piano. Whether your into the gospel and blues, opener “This Time, “ or of the Tom Waits – like “Crazy to Think,” this is an album not to be missed.” -Ward Lowe 3 1/2 stars -Austin Monthly
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Interview in JAM (Italy)
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My father was the preacher of a small gospel church in Houston. A very special little church, people...My father was the preacher of a small gospel church in Houston. A very special little church, people of any race, color and social status were welcome. It was there where I really learned how to play, even though I attended The High school for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, and studied jazz trumpet at the University of North Texas for 2 years.
I was 11 years old when I first played the trumpet in my father’s church. My father’s best friend, Jerry Martin, directed the church’s band. He was a black man with a voice that resembled Sam Cooke’s. He was an engineer for Exxon but he had an incredible passion for singing. As the “the son of the preacher”, I was always in church. If it ever happened that the drummer didn’t show up I was there to replace him. The same went for the piano player, the bass player, the guitarist. I would replace whoever was missing. Then the pianist taught me a C triad and the rest was history. Music is in my family heritage. My grandparents also played the piano. My great grandmother was the first woman to graduate from Julliard back in the 20’s. My grandfather was a “boogie woogie” player. It was on his piano that I took my first classes.
An inevitable destiny for Bruce James, 34, piano player, singer and white soul man from Austin, the author of last year’s brilliant debut album “Soultet, Yours, Mine and the Truth”. A destiny from which James couldn’t escape but enrich with his own personal journey: “I grew up in Houston, Texas, and then moved to Austin after a short period living in Denton. My whole band from High school moved with me. It was during this time that I started to play in small venues around town. We played a mix of Earth, Wind & Fire’s funk-soul and Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. After a few years, we were playing over 250 shows a year in the States. We played with Bernie Worrell, Burning Spear, Jimmy Smith and participated in Music Festivals along with Los Lobos and Dr. John. The name of the band was TUNJI and we played together for 10 years. We spent half of that time, as Alejandro Escovedo said, accumulating more miles than money and without a record deal. Living on the road taught me all kind of bad habits so I decided to go back home in Houston for a couple of years and to Los Angeles for rehabilitation. After a year in Austin I was completely clean and it has been 5 years since I haven’t had a drink.”
A comeback filled with hope and enthusiasm that led him to the release of his first record: “Back in Austin I put together a new band and recorded ‘Junkyard Soul’ which is about to be released in Japan with some bonus tracks. I worked on that record for an entire year recording at this excellent analog studio called ‘Nest Recording’.
What strikes you the most when you first listen to “Yours, Mine and the Truth” is the amazing live vibe: It was recorded at Arlyn Studios during the same time that I was taking Audio Production classes in the same building. Arlyn used to be one of Willie Nelson’s studios. Bonnie Raitt’s sublime “Nick of Time” was also recorded there as well as Nelson’s “Red Headed Stranger”. The Studios’ instrumentation is excellent; it has 2 huge rooms with isolated boxes for the piano and other instruments. This way we were all able to be in the same room and play live together. All recorded tracks are either the first or the second take. All we had to do was to play our live repertoire and all I was doing was to make sure everyone felt comfortable and free to play music. They were the same songs we were used to playing live and the arrangements were already done. We had no intention of changing the record in order to make it work for radio. We just wanted to document the energy and the interaction that we experience every night on stage.
Easy to say and not hard to do if you have a band like the soultet: Any member of Soultet is capable of being the leader of its own band, David Jimenez, the guitar player, graduated from Berklee. He writes music and is a great singer. I have played with Chris Trafton, the drummer, for 10 years. He is the only one in the band to also have played on “Junkyard Soul”. Tim Spivey, the bass player, comes from the school of New Orleans, he would play 5 nights a week while he was graduating from Loyola University in jazz. The guitarist Fumi Sugawara, has been recently signed to Ropeadope in New York with his latest record. Dan Kovaly, the percussionist whom I’ve known from high school, has a degree in composition and he probably feels more comfortable directing a symphonic orchestra than playing the congas.
“Yours, mine and the truth” is a long jam. It’s filled with ideas, rhythmic phrases and solo performances going in and out of this expressive Afro-American universe stylistic pattern which it’s kind of unusual for European audiences. I think of Joe Cocker, Van Morrison or even Steve Winwood’s “Traffic”. I like all of them but my most important influences among singers are Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Ray Charles and Tom Waits. The most influential songwriters for me were Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Dr John. And of course, all the Motown and Stax records. I play them all the time. I’m also a huge fan of Uncle Tupelo, Flaming Lips, Los Lobos, and Earth Wind & Fire.
Just when you are about to think that you have (almost) understood everything about “Yours, mine, and the truth” there it comes the last track of the album: “Crazy to Think”, a ballad that sounds like an outtake of Tom Waits’ Asylum. So, what’s the truth about Bruce James? I’m a sucker for ballads. I solo 5 times a week ay a restaurant in Austin and I’ve learned quite a few songs. I’m about to release 2 solo albums just me singing and playing the piano. Being compared to Tom Waits is a huge compliment but believe me, there is nothing like playing with a bunch of friends, letting yourself go, gettin’ dirty. Do you know what I mean?
Translated by Victoria LaPaz
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CD Reviews
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Bruce James Soultet— Yours, Mine and the Truth: James a singer-songwriter from Austin celebrated the...Bruce James Soultet— Yours, Mine and the Truth: James a singer-songwriter from Austin celebrated the release of his new CD on August 15th at the Continental Club with T Bird & the Breaks. He has one foot deeply rooted in southern gospel and soul music and the other planted solidly in Tom Waits and the Flaming Lips. His music actually says something. The album was recorded live in eight hours at the legendary Arlyn studios in Austin and mastered by Pete Dowell. The Soultet includes Berklee grad David Jamenez on guitar, Loyola alum Tim Spivey on bass Fumi Sagawara (Afrofreque) on guitar Chris Trafton (Zion, Java Tribe) on drums and Dan Kovaly. James’ deep from the heart and soul vocals echoes Charles, as well as, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and a bit of Sam Cooke. It’s authentic R&B soul and jazz that comes from the best places and is then taken by James to his own new artistic heights. www.myspace.com/brucejames 5.0 McRiprock’s
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"Yours, Mine, and the Truth"
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Bruce James Soultet at Luna Keyboard man and most soulful singer James and his Soultet are celebrati...Bruce James Soultet at Luna Keyboard man and most soulful singer James and his Soultet are celebrating the release of a new CD, "Yours, Mine and the Truth." James' music is part deep soul, part gritty singing songwriter effort and all honest.
Jim Beal
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Bruce James soultet
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No stranger to the Texas music scene, Austin-based singer/songwriter Bruce James drops his second al...No stranger to the Texas music scene, Austin-based singer/songwriter Bruce James drops his second album entitled Junkyard Soul this month. Junkyard Soul, a unique gem in this technologically driven era of recording, utilizes actual tape. "Music is waves, not binary code, there is warmth and presence to tape," says James. Because of the limitations of tape, James and his quartet focused on capturing their live sound in as few takes as possible. "You can't do 30 takes -you have a couple -there are not unlimited tracks," says James. The quartet playing together live in a small studio, replicates the same intimate feel of listening to the band from the third row of your local club which sets the Bruce James Quartet apart from other R&B/Soul acts.
Though Bruce James possesses a unique sound, no artist escapes comparisons. Drawing comparisons from Wilson Pickett to Otis Redding to Joe Cocker, James' humble approach to the situation is a sense of honor. "When people request 'Mustang Sally'- that means they hear me sounding like Wilson Pickett - I'm not going to play 'Mustang Sally,' but I appreciate the connection," says James. While James may not be quick to play a tune by another artist, you can hear the influences in his music. All types of influences.
"Sideways," depicts the quiet desperation James felt while living the fast-paced life in Los Angeles. The original music for the song contained the soulful, urban vibe that James exudes throughout much of his music. "LA is such a desolate empty place sometimes," says James. But after teaming up with Geoff Queen, the two added a bit of pedal steel to the mix, creating a hint of country reminiscent of the music produced in 1960s Memphis. "If you think about it, all the stuff coming out was country as hell - Otis, Steve Cropper, all those guys are country," says James.
Armed with a hybrid of different sounds, the word junkyard fits perfectly into the title and the album takes you on a journey through the Junkyard Soul story, a story that mirrors James' life out west. "A few tunes, I wrote about my experience in LA- getting cleaned up -the battles of addiction," states James. James believes this deeply personal album to be his best album yet. "We could make it right now, the band sounds great, we have a great team around us and all the pieces are in place." He adds, "we just need money to take it to the next level - simple yet so elusive."
- Nicole Bolls
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CD Release 8/27
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Jim Beal
07/25/2007 07:11 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Bruce James Quartet
Luna —It's a...
Jim Beal
07/25/2007 07:11 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Bruce James Quartet
Luna —It's a CD release party for James' "Junkyard Soul" disc. James is a singer, songwriter, pianist and organist who brings together soul, funk and groove for music that's part smooth soul and part growling funk. You can snap your fingers or shake your booty to the songs on "Junkyard Soul" and have a good time doing both.
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AA-S Best Bets
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AA-S Best Bet: Houston native Bruce James has been making the rounds on the Austin music circuit...
AA-S Best Bet: Houston native Bruce James has been making the rounds on the Austin music circuit for years, first as part of Tunji, then as a solo artist. His stout, husky voice, keyboard chops and roots in gospel, jazz and soul have made him a mainstay around town. James has been working on his upcoming full-length album, "Junkyard Soul." Hand Me Down also performs.
— Lauren Clonts
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Bruce James
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Bruce James has a deeply soulful set of lungs; at times echoes Springsteen, Joe Cocker and Van Morri...Bruce James has a deeply soulful set of lungs; at times echoes Springsteen, Joe Cocker and Van Morrison while remaining true to himself." - Relix Magazine, Issue27-2
supersonic
