José James - 1978: Revenge Of The Dragon (Album) + Interview

Genre-defying vocalist, producer, and creative visionary José James releases his 13th studio album, 1978: Revenge of The Dragon, via his own Rainbow Blonde Records. Set against the backdrop of his birth year (1978), 1978: Revenge of The Dragon captures the electric tension of a transformative cultural moment. James draws from the chaotic swirl of influences that defined the late ’70s: the experimental edge of New York’s loft and jazz scenes, the pop brilliance of Elton John and Billy Joel, the revolutionary pulse of Bob Marley and the Isley Brothers, the cosmic funk of Parliament-Funkadelic, and the unstoppable rise of punk and disco. Beneath it all was a sense of convergence—genres colliding, boundaries dissolving. It was a cultural crescendo, visually soundtracked by kung fu and Blaxploitation double features. James channels that restless spirit into a bold, cinematic sound that feels both timeless and radical.

There was me sitting in a room sun blazing outside thinking about my favourite Love Supreme memories and how excited I was to hear more about José’s journey. 

What made you pick up a pen and start writing or what gave you the confidence to start to compose music yourself?

“It's a great question. Well my first love was literature and I always thought I would be a writer, yeah, and obviously fate and the universe had other plans. But I never lost my love of reading, poetry, fiction and non-fiction. I think it was sort of inevitable you know. Just genetically, my mom is a writer like a non-profit grants writer and has given me her love of fiction and literature. My dad is a jazz musician, so I think I'm something of the combination of the two of them.

My first song ever with words was the ‘Dreamer’ which is on my first album and yeah came out on Giles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings. One day I was just sitting in a practice room at school by myself, I used to work at the school. So I opened up the school that morning, no one else was there, and I sat down in the practice room and started playing these chords in all these words, just came spilling out, you know, I didn't question it. That was the first song with lyrics, and came from such a pure place. So I’ve always looked at my songwriting like that, I don't try to force it or you know, try to get a hit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's just not what I'm meant to do on this planet and this time.”

CC “That sounds so beautiful, people don't really understand the importance of reading. In that it can actually be a source of inspiration without even realising it, until you then start doing some writing as well. There's certain words that jump out to you after you've read quite a lot, then writing becomes more natural, and it kind of flows through you. Rather than having a formulaic process, and like you said, there's nothing wrong with that. So it's beautiful to hear that that's your process because it's not often I hear people having that kind of combination.”

How would you describe your sound? 

“Ooo that’s tricky, I'd say it's vocally rounded in jazz differently coming from my heroes. People like Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole. But all through the lens of what I grew up in which is the era of Hip Hop, or Grunge, Rock, whatever you wanna call it. The 90s, the early 2000s, that was my time. I’m just lucky because I feel like I found a way to synthesis all of it sometimes at once. So there's that love for the classic jazz vocal, there’s the sound of the samples of you know. 90s Hip Hop, which is a lot of 70s and 60s music sampled, with hard beats under it. The feeling of today, which I think we've arrived to the point of complete musical omnivores. The kids today don't really think in genre, which I love you know, they're listening to new styles especially in the UK electronic music is evolving at warp speed every 10 minutes, there's like a new strand of a style.“

CC “100%. Yeah, it's funny you say about electronic music as well, because recently I've been listening to a lot of this newer, electronic music that's coming out and it's such a vibe, I've been listening to a lot of Mysie. Before that was listening to House like KAYTRANADA and saw him perform this year and there’s something so infectious about it, that mixed with the Sun as well. I don't even know how to explain it, but mmm this is delicious both *giggle*.”

José “I have to say I lived in London for 2 years, and it was a really influential moment for me. It was like the commotion of what became known as dubstep. Hanging around with those kinds of guys like Giles Peterson. I would go to Plastic People, I lived like five blocks from Plastic People. So I would be there all the time. Yeah, and so I know exactly what you mean. Kind of like watching Floating Points or any of these kinds of guys perform. But for me, everywhere felt like something new, because they're presenting new music and changing in a real-time in those kinds of spaces. It felt like what I imagined people must have felt like going to The Villager in the 60s. Seeing Miles Davis, you know, in the 50s or John Coltrane,  like something fresh something that had never been done before. Who's the artist you mentioned before?”

CC “Mysie, yes, I've be listening to the album called CONTROLLA, and I've just had that on repeat for what feels like forever and I'm in that loop, but I'm enjoying being in that loop at the moment if it's a great album. Before that it was KAYTRANADA’s Timeless.”

So you've just released a new album called 1978 revenge of the dragon, could you tell us more about the process of making this piece? 

“I'm protective of it because it's a very specific point in time. It's like this fascinating and you'll understand this, it's this fascinating crossroads of literally almost every single genre that human beings were working in music at that time. What fascinates me is that no matter what the style was because of the limits of technology, basically, everybody had a record the same way.  So whether it was Kraftwerk, The Bee Gees, The Rolling Stones or Herbie Hancock, everything was recorded in studios to 2” tape, because that's basically how you could record at that time. Right after that everything changed, digital desks came in all the drum machines started to takeover. It was sort of the end of an era of the band. You know, people getting together in one room and just hitting record and putting a take down. There's something so beautiful about listening to just albums of that time. Bob Marley and The Wailers - Kaya, Prince’s first album. You know, the soundtrack for Saturday night fever you know both *laugh*. Really all of it existed at the same time you know the end of disco, you know, turning into all the things we're talking about. You know House music and where that would go and Hip-Hop. Yeah, so I’m kind of fascinated at the moment because everything lived together in the space that I think we're only now getting back to, you know, now it's living together again. But the sound is very different now, you can make a whole album on your iPhone. Yeah, you know you can go to Abbey Road or you can just stay at home both *laugh* you can do whatever you want. There's something about the cohesiveness between all those artists, you between Elton John, Marivn Gaye and Quincy Jones, that I just love, you know. 

Credit: Janette Beckman

CC “Yeah, that's amazing because I remember my mum talking about it because my mom's was born 1960s, she said that she remembers disco sort of turning and then going into something else. She remembers growing up and seeing that kind of change as well. I think that's another reason why I have such an eclectic palette, I would listen to popular music. But they would still play like Motown etc. which I love. I also love listening to acapella vocals of these types of singers and it's just the rawness, and you can just feel a different type of emotion, it’s so powerful. I did this course at my uni called Cultural Perspectives and our tutor really broke down a lot of the components. As to what makes up a lot of influences that we see today and the evolution of it. So it's wonderful that it's actually based on the year that you were born, and how you've been able to navigate what was happening at that time to now. I don’t think a lot of people do that and I think it’s so cool.”

You also have a short film. I need to still watch that actually for Revenge Of The Dragon, could you tell us a little bit more about the film? 

“Save it for a rainy day*both laugh*the1978 year was also the peak of Hong Kong Kung Fu cinema. 1978 it was really about going to, you know, parties, house parties, concerts and going to watch these double features, you know, blaxploitation films and these films from Hong Kong, you know Kung Fu films. It was popularised mostly by Enter The Dragon (1972) by 78, it was really this huge and complex and wonderful cinematic world. A lot of the soundtrack, was Funk music, you know, American stuff, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin and Jazz. I'm sort of fascinated by that intersect where once again, black music is literally travelling all over the world. You know finding itself in Hong Kong, in soundtracks are these like wild Kung Fu films, and I'm also a practitioner of Shaolin Kung Fu. 

Yeah, it's a new thing I've only been practicing for about a year, but I wanted to basically just have some fun. The whole thing with this album was like I want to tap back into this idea, that I feel from the seventies where people just kind of made stuff. They just got together and just said I don't know, let's just try it like Star Wars (1977), you know what I mean. It's serious, but there's a light heartedness to it. I feel like we can really use today, so yeah, I convinced all my band numbers to dress up like Kung Fu experts and all the swords and play martial arts with it.”

CC “I absolutely love that and yeah, that's a really interesting connection as well, and I think to be honest, the people that will watch that film will be able to relate to it. I'll probably bring back some really fond, childhood memories of them watching those types of films. So it's beautiful that you’ve been able to connect the two. I think it's nice when artists can have different mediums and bring them together, but also correct me if I’m wrong, but did read that you directed that as well, I think I saw that you says it was directed by you?”

José “I co-directed so all the screenplay I did the foley, like all the sound effects in 70 style, everything is overdubbed and all the sound effects I created myself” 

CC *Gasps* “That's so cool I've always said that if I wasn't doing what I was doing now, there's one of two things I would have looked into doing. Either being a stylist or being a foley artist I love ugh I'm obsessed with the foley thing. A lot of people, when I say foley, people have no idea what I'm talking about! José “Exactly!.”

“I'm just like, I just want someone to be obsessed with me about this, because like nobody gets it. I've watched so many videos of people doing foley stuff and I just find it really, really  fascinating. I think it's so cool” 

José “Right?! Chopping up cabbages in my house” 

CC “Yeah *laugh* you must have had so much fun doing that. I'm a little bit jealous, I feel like I need to find a crash course, that they do foley on and just do it for fun.”

José “Absolutely, you know what you can do. You can just pick a film, any action film and just play with the sound off and just experiment. Just take a 10 minute, clip of that film and just do sound effects for it like at home seriously.”

CC “Yeah, you know what 100% and I've got a little recording set up at home, so I'm just gonna do that just for fun.” José “There it is, there is it *laughs *because why not it ooo I'm ever so excited.”

So you're performing Love Supreme, which is very exciting, and what can we expect from your set? 

I mean it’s an honour it's one of the best festivals in the world. CC “It is”.

“It is, it really really is and I have a really special surprise. I'm bringing this young artist I'm mentoring, her name is Ebban Dorsey and she's from Baltimore she turned just turned 21. I’ve been working with her since she was 17, she plays an alto saxophone like she's a legend. I’ve met a lot of artists in my 20 years of doing this. She legitimately is the future Jazz. She's incredible, so I’m bringing her with her Baltimore swag and the whole band is just incredible. 

You know, it's kind of a mix of you know Yves Fernandez who plays with a lot of the great singers in the UK like Lianne La Havas. He’s one of the most sought after and incredible bass players in London right now. Dom Gerva is one of the freshest germs from Brooklyn I think he's also like 24 or something out. Then BIGYUKI is the Japanese synth legend from Kobe. He’s worked with A Tribe Called Quest yeah, so he's coming from Lauryn Hill he’s coming from a whole other space, but we always meet up in jazz. So it's something beautiful and explosive, and uplifting you know. I think that's the most important thing I want to bring right now in this moment to people. I think people are coming to art, not to be challenged, but to be uplifted. Because life is challenging enough right now, so that's what I want to bring. 

CC “I love the sound of that uplifting is really, really important. To be fair it leads me onto my next question as well, so I kind of looked it back at the archives of the posters of Love Supreme, and I could see that you've performed there more than once. So, do you have any favourite memories? That could be either a performing memory, it could be like an encounter with somebody you've met there like a fan. As you mention it is a beautiful festival so there must be something that makes think this is why Love Supreme beautiful. 

I love Love Supreme because the whole festival is wonderful. A lot of festivals, sort of the curation is a bit uneven it tends to be. Where like they spend all their money on the A list artists. So everybody's going to the main stage and then, you know, sometimes whatever's playing at the same time gets less of an audience. I feel like the programming at Love Supreme every single artist is really special, really important, really has something to say and gives and is given their own time to say, what they're there to say. You can literally just walk and listen to anything at Love Supreme and it’s gonna be fabulous. I learned about a lot of artists myself, you know, like all I’ll just walk around and without even knowing necessarily what I'm going to see. You know, I've heard a lot of artists through my years, I've been to a lot of festivals. That's certainly not always the case, but the level is that high, at Love Supreme where you can literally just go and immerse yourself, spend the whole day walking around. Just filling yourself up with new ideas, meeting new artists, you know. To me, that is the real strength and presence of what Love supreme brings. 

CC “Oh, wow that is so wonderful to hear. Love Supreme was the first festival camping festival that I ever went to, I was really apprehensive about it, because I bought my ticket, and then everybody that was supposed to go with dropped out. So I was like, oh my gosh, I'm about to go to this festival by myself, and I wasn't into sort of the super heavy partying, if you know what I mean by that. So I thought I just gotta go with it with open arms and it completely blew my mind. It will always be my first love for festivals, so I completely get where you're coming from and I do the same I walk around and I think, okay, like what or who can I go and see that I might not know about. People there genuinely love music and their openness is wonderful and they have that ear for what’s good. The whole thing's just really refreshing. So I'm definitely looking forward to going back again, of course. 

José “Absolute, they need to get your quote in there too *laughs*.”

CC “No, definitely. I would love that. Yeah, and my friend is actually going to be performing there for the first time, and this year is even more special for us. He's my best friend his name is MANNY, he's going to be doing a track with a with a guy called Rudi Creswick called Peace Of Mind. He plays bass he’s played bass for Tom Misch and quite a lot of big artists. Now he's gone on to do his own solo stuff Different Forms and MANNY features in his project. So he's going to be bringing him on stage which I'm really, really looking forward to probably might end up crying because that's just me. Jose “Well yeah that’s huge that’s huge”. CC “It really is you know, we're both from Milton Keynes, it’s not really known for this type of music. For this to happen to him, he's just wonderful, he will help whoever he can help with kind of creative stuff and including myself. We're, both that for each other and we're each other's kind of cheerleaders. So I’m like yeah this is your time and it's meant to be. So I'm really looking forward to watching him perform.”

Credit: Janette Beckman

Would you be able to give us a fond memory? of one track at high school or college, so this could be like house parties, road trip holidays. 

“Gotcha. Yeah, Award Tour by A Tribe Called Quest yeah, featuring Trugoy The Dove from De La Soul. I mean, man like I can't even like putting the words that how it felt, when that album dropped, it was, you know, summer. A friend of mine had this beautiful 1964 impala in white with rims on it and he totally tripped out. I remember buying that album on tape, you know, putting in the tape deck and listening to that and rolling in that car with the sun, it was like, and it was never better man. It's never been better for me like that was like such a beautiful moment. Kind of annoying that like you know, my generation had turned out something extraordinary. You know and so uplifting and so unifying it. I love Tribe Called Quest because I feel like more than anybody in Hip-Hop, they really found a way to pull on so many styles, you know, bringing, you know, black references from the Caribbean, all through New York and in the United States and the music, you know, the sources Ali Shaheed Muhammad, would pull from everywhere, you know, just all the black music. So at that moment was like wow I’II kind of felt like, yeah, the world is ours.”

CC “I mean yeah even you saying this, I can actually visualise you putting the tape in and yeah, the imagery, just sounds beyond.”

“Right?! Also you know you’re remembering this in real-time, you know, like how they talk about they kind of name, drop all these different places that they’ve played. For me I had a dream of being a singer, but I had no idea I didn't have a passport back then, so I had no idea that my career would go. But hearing Tribe Called Quest kinda drop Tokyo, London, and LA and I was  like, wow okay, they've really been around the world. You know, so I kind of planted that seed for me yo if they can do it like maybe music could take me there too, you know.”

Wonderful which leads me onto the next question. So would you say that your sound today carries influences from your childhood?

“Oh absolutely, absolutely. The music that I listened to on the radio I mean, gosh I grew up with Michael Jackson, when I was 10 the Bad Tour, you know Prince - Purple Rain. That was my first LPL on vinyl, I know I’m from Minneapolis. Yeah, you know, it's all part of it, I think there was such an open feeling from the late 80s through the 90s. Of like everybody was just great at what they did, and you really had to play, you really had to sing, whether it was, you know, Nine Inch Nails, 10,000 Maniacs, Nirvana, Rakim, Eric B. Whatever it was like, people really they had to do it they had to have a unique voice. Had to be able to play and sing really well at a high level, so I've definitely taken that on yeah, and of course the Jazz musicians as well, you know, we had Bobby McFerrin you know, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock. So yeah, it's all living within me.”

CC “That sounds incredible. I think as well, like, I'm visualising being 10 and seeing Michael Jackson, that must have blow it alone like your mind. José “Ah man yeah, it was completely life changing.” CC “I can only imagine.”

So do you have any advice for our readers who might be trying to play the mad game of music?

“You know, there's no way around this fact that when it’s your time it’s your time. There’s no way to know when it will be your time. So you have to just to keep like making it, because you love it, and that's has to sustain you through everything you know. One thing I do want to talk about that confused me for a long time, most people would say, you know, success and failure is the same thing and I really never understood that. I'm like as a kid I’m like, obviously a success, a win is a win man like, you know, yeah you know what I mean. What I've learned is either one as a creative person can knock you off of your centre, you know. The reason why you got into this the reason, like you love these albums, the reason why you love it so much that you want to make it, you want to speak in that in that world. To realise yeah fame can pull you off of it. Quote on quote failure can pull you off with it, you know, like getting a bad review or you know, or an album flopping or something. Both of those can pull you off of your true essence of the creative person, you know. So holding on to that is like the most important thing, and then the rest is just I don’t know, so I guess up to a universe man, you know, like some people if they are famous like Micheal Jackson when they're like, 9 years old, you know what I mean. Some people get discovered late in life. You know, like John Prine and you just never know, so you just kind of got a hold on for the ride, and try to enjoy it.”

What else do you have coming up in the not so distant future?

“Well, actually, you'll appreciate this, and it's what I was working on this morning. I'm writing a book called The Art Of Jazz singing. It's wildly ambitious *both laugh* like everything I get into. Part of it is my own story, my own journey into this music and working, living in London. Meeting Giles Peterson working with people like Flying Lotus and legends like Chico Hamilton and McCoy Tyner, and Anita Baker you know, like crazy things, the middle part is kind of my philosophy about jazz singing. A lot of practical things to work on for the next generation. Things that I've learned in my 20 years of doing it, that they don't teach in school. Then the last part, which I'm most excited about, is interviews that I've been collecting with people I consider to be the greatest practitioners of the art form. So like Samara Joy, Diane Reeves, Andy Bey I got his last interview, he just passed away 2 months ago, Shelia Jordan who is 94, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Eling. So it like giving a guide book for the next generation of jazz singers to hear something from the inside. Not from critics, not from historians, not from, you know, ethnomusicologists but from actual jazz singers. From myself from other people who are doing it, because we're the ones that are making it so I think it’s vital for them to hear from us. It’s just a different perspective, I’m not knocking anybody else you know. Just a different thing, yeah like it will probably teach you like what to do when you’re on tour for the first time and you get sick on the road. That's what I mean, like real like real stuff you know.”

CC “It sounds like it's going to be really special and I feel like so many people will really appreciate that, and we'll really love reading all of those like anecdotes as well. The interviews are going to be really, really something special, yeah, I can't wait, for that to come out, I will wait patiently.”

James will support the project with a global tour, including headline shows at Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, Los Angeles, and São Paulo; Ronnie Scott’s in London; and major festival appearances at Jazz Aspen Snowmass, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Love Supreme Festival (UK), and Joy of Jazz (South Africa). He will also make a special appearance supporting Lionel Richie at Jazzopen Stuttgart in Germany.

1978: Revenge of The Dragon is available in limited quantities on vinyl and cassette, with exclusive merch available now at rainbowblonderecords.com.

For tickets and tour updates, visit josejamesmusic.com.