Jose James
photo by Janette Beckman

Jose James teams with Laura Mvula & Kris Bowers for "Nobody Knows My Name" (listen)

As mentioned, José James is releasing his new album No Beginning No End 2 this Friday (3/6) via his own Rainbow Blonde Records (pre-order). He already released a few singles singles, including “I Need Your Love” (ft. Ledisi and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah) and “Turn Me Up” (ft. Aloe Blacc), and we’re now premiering the song with British neo-soul great Laura Mvula and jazz pianist Kris Bowers, “Nobody Knows My Name.”

The album finds José blending sounds and blurring lines between genres, and this new jazz/blues/soul hybrid is a great example of that. “I read an interview with Billie Eilish where she was talking about, ‘I can’t believe people used to think genres existed,” he said. “It’s like, oh man, that’s just so nice. It was such a struggle for my generation, and others before, to kick these doors down of this genre and that, and it’s so beautiful to know there are kids who can’t even think that way.”

Talking specifically about this new song, he added, “‘Nobody Knows My Name’ is the first collaboration between myself and the amazing Laura Mvula. It was also written by the pianist and composer Kris Bowers who wrote the music for Ava Duvernay’s ‘When They See Us.’ The song is an exploration of identity and fame in today’s Trump America and a post-Brexit UK. What does it mean to be a Black artist now? Musically we’re paying homage to Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, Max Roach and Charles Mingus.” Listen below.

José also has tour dates coming up, including a NYC show on March 25 Bowery Ballroom (tickets). All dates are listed below.

José James — 2020 Tour Dates
3/21: Denver, CO @ Dazzle Jazz
3/22: Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
3/25: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
3/27: Washington, DC @ The Hamilton Live
5/7: Evanston, IL @ SPACE
5/8-9: Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota
5/23-24: Seoul, South Korea @ Olympic Park (Seoul Jazz Festival)