Legendary Jazz Keyboardist Bob James' New CD "Urban Flamingo" Set for
Feb. 21st Release

Marks Grammy Award Winning Musician/Composer/Arranger's 2nd Solo
Recording for KOCH Records


NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/23/06 -- Bob James, Grammy Award
winning musician/composer/arranger, is set to release his highly
anticipated new album "Urban Flamingo" on KOCH Records on February
21st, 2006. "Urban Flamingo" is James' follow-up to his critically
acclaimed 2004 solo label debut "Take It From The Top." Continuing
seamlessly with his fine art of collaboration, which has produced
legendary recordings with such artists as Earl Klugh, David Sanborn
and the mega popular supergroup Fourplay, "Urban Flamingo" features
Bob with his Michigan-based quintet of bassist Al Turner, drummer Ron
Otis, guitarist Perry Hughes and saxophonist David McMurray.


With "Take It From The Top," James, who relocated to Michigan after
years in Westchester County, New York -- returned to the vibe of his
early '60s recordings with a trio date featuring bassist James Genus
and drummer Billy Kilson. That trio performs "Urban Flamingo's"
traditional jazz minded "Niles Ahead," but the core of the new
ten-song collection features more funk, jazz and pop spirited grooves.
Key tracks featuring this latest "James Gang" are the lively and
percussive "Choose Me, " the mystical, slightly off meter "Skidaway,"
a sensuous and smooth request to "Make It More Blue" and "Bobary
Coast," which crisply blends James' R&B and swing jazz sensibilities.
The bluesy, fusion-tinged (with a touch of classical piano) title
track and bright, vibrant "Wingapo" feature Turner and Otis keeping
rhythm and edgy electric guitar solos by Wayne Gerard. Longtime James
fans will also be delighted by two very familiar faces -- his
daughter, singer Hilary James, and bassist Nathan East, James' cohort
in Fourplay. The soulful Phil Ramone-Michael Colina produced vocal
ballad "Lay Down With You" beautifully recaptures the joyful spirit of
father and daughter's 1995 classic duet album "Flesh and Blood." On
the elegant, Eastern flavored "Endless Time," East's famous basslines
and wordless vocals are caressed by a mystical harmony created by the
Chinese er-hu.


Like his contemporaries Earl Klugh and David Sanborn, Bob James -- who
will be honored with the "George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award" by
the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards in April, 2006 -- was putting the
"smooth" into jazz over a decade before there was an official radio
format for it. Along the way, he inspired several future generations
of musicians who realized they didn't have to decide between jazz and
R&B -- they could do both. The Marshall, Missouri native chose jazz
first, bopping with his own trio at the University of Michigan and
later New York City before being discovered by Quincy Jones at the
Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963. He launched his recording career
that year with "Bold Conceptions," but didn't really take off till he
started collaborating in New York with artists in Creed Taylor's CTI
stable, including Hank Crawford and Grover Washington, Jr. James
recorded four albums for the label before moving to CBS and forming
his own imprint, Tappan Zee Records -- which he kept even after
signing with Warner Bros. in the mid-'80s.


While establishing himself as a contemporary jazz giant via his solo
albums and "One On One," his first of three dual albums with Klugh,
James achieved pop culture icon status via his memorable "Theme From
Taxi," which was originally "Angela," a cut on his album "Touchdown";
James later wrote all the music for the famed TV series. Although
tracks like "Maputo" from "Double Vision," his Tommy LiPuma produced,
Grammy winning dual album with David Sanborn, established James as a
presence in the emerging smooth jazz format, he also expanded his
artistic reach in the '80s with three classical albums for CBS
Masterworks.


Sessions for the 1990 album "Grand Piano Canyon" evolved into
Fourplay, the band featuring James, East, drummer Harvey Mason and
guitarist Lee Ritenour (who left the band in 1998 and was replaced by
Larry Carlton), which has been a major force in contemporary jazz for
over 15 years. In the odd numbered years when James isn't recording
and touring with Fourplay, he's constantly seeking fresh new
collaborators. Before hooking up for the trio project "Take It From
The Top," he released "Dancing On The Water" (2001), which featured
Keiko Matsui, Joe Sample, Dave Holland and Chuck Loeb; and "Morning,
Noon & Night" (2002), which paired him with Loeb and hit smooth jazz
producer (and fellow wine connoisseur) Paul Brown.


"I feel the same about the band on 'Urban Flamingo' as I do when I
think about those on all of my projects over the years," states James.
"I've had the incredible opportunity to work with the highest level
artists and musicians in the world, and this has been as much a
privilege as a challenge. I always feel lucky to be in the same room
as these brilliant talents, but I'm also always hoping I can hold up
my end. People have tried to find a name for the eclectic music I
make, but I just see myself as a jazz musician, period. If I'm making
music that's hard for people to simply categorize, then I'm doing what
I set out to do."