BONEY JAMES: ANNOUNCES ONLINE SEARCH FOR VOCALISTS; EARNS THIRD GRAMMY NOMINATION, THIS TIME IN THE R&B CATEGORY

EARNS THIRD GRAMMY NOMINATION, THIS TIME IN THE R&B CATEGORY
AND ENDS YEAR RANKED AS BILLBOARD MAGAZINE’S
#3 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ ARTIST OF THE DECADE
#1 HOT SMOOTH JAZZ ARTIST

The East Coast-raised and Los Angeles-based songwriter/saxophonist–a major force in both the worlds of Contemporary Jazz and R&B–has decided to harness the power of the Internet after experiencing good fortune with an unknown vocalist when recording his 2009 album SEND ONE YOUR LOVE (Concord).  It all began when BONEY asked his friends if they knew anyone new he could work with, and a vocalist named Quinn was suggested. “He really had the voice I was looking for on this track–a real retro/modern soulful voice,” explains BONEY. “As soon as I heard it, I knew he was right and two days later he was flying to Los Angeles.”  They subsequently recorded the song “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” and it is now nominated for a Grammy in the “Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance” category.

BONEY is excited to cast the net wide on the Internet for undiscovered vocal collaborators. “I'm always just trying to match a singer with the song,” he says when asked about what kind of singers he’s looking for. “Since I'm still writing it's hard to say, but so much is just inspiration–I'll know it when I hear it!  

Beyond the Grammy nomination, 2009 was truly a watermark year for BONEY:  Billboard ranked him the #1 “Hot Smooth Jazz Artist” as well as the #2 “Top Contemporary Jazz Artist.”  SEND ONE YOUR LOVE has been on the “Top Contemporary Jazz Album” chart for 44 weeks since its February 3, 2009 release and was ranked #2 for that chart overall for 2009.  He was also the #3 Contemporary Jazz Artist of the Decade (behind Norah Jones and Kenny G.) and the #8 Best-Selling Jazz Artist of the Decade.

BONEY has not only sold over three million albums–he’s earned a string of 12 hit records (including 8 Billboard Contemporary Jazz #1’s) and garnered an array of honors: a Soul Train Award for Best Jazz Album, three Grammy nominations–two for Best Pop Instrumental Album and one for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance–and an NAACP Image Award nomination.  

“It's a total blast for me to be nominated in this category,” BONEY says about the “Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance” Grammy nod for “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” Having previously recorded with such artists as Faith Evans, George Benson, Anthony Hamilton and Angie Stone, BONEY says: “I’ve always felt a bit like an R&B singer trapped in a sax player’s body.  When I play, it really is in my mind like I’m singing and I’ve often referred to my music as ‘instrumental R&B.’ So to have this recognition in the genre of music that has always been so inspirational to me is a great honor.”

Elaborating further about his inspiration to record “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”—originally written and recorded by James Taylor in 1972, then covered by the Isley Brothers in 1973—BONEY says: “I’ve always loved both versions of the song. The original had a fantastic sax solo by the late great Michael Brecker, and the Isleys version was such a complete reinvention. Both of them inspired me to try my hand at my own arrangement. I thought it was a cool combination of retro and modern R&B.  I knew Quinn’s performance was fantastic and, well, the sax didn't suck either!”