Celebrating the eightieth birth year of the legendary R&B singer songwriter, Blue Note recording artist José James presents "Lean On Me: José James celebrates Bill Withers." Vetted personally by Mr. Withers himself, the show is an exploration of the deep musical catalogue that touched millions of hearts and united communities worldwide. Featuring Withers' top ten hits as well as his soul ballads and rare grooves, James brings both a deep musical appreciation and a contemporary approach to songs such as "Ain't No Sunshine," "Hope She'll Be Happier," and "Just the Two of Us." Fittingly, James has assembled a truly all star cast of musicians: Nate Smith on drums, Ben Williams on bass, Sullivan Fortner on keys and Brad Allen Williams on guitar.
José James on the project:
We've lost a lot of phenomenal musicians over the last few years. David Bowie, Sharon Jones, Leonard Cohen, Prince. That combined with the insanity of our current world events made me want to focus on our living genius and positive energy as a people. I've been drawn to Bill Withers' music for years and started performing a medley of his songs in my live set. It was an organic thing that started at sound check then grew to become a massive 20 minute musical and emotional highlight of my live show. When I discovered that he was turning 80 in 2018 I thought, "What better way to bring positivity to the world while challenging the racist, fascist and sexist status quo?" His songs reflect a love for community, for unification; his music respects elders, mentors and explores male vulnerability in a way that's missing from today's R&B. And his catalog is vast and powerful. He's simply one of the best living songwriters, period. "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me," "Grandma's Hands," "Lovely Day," "Just the Two of Us" - who wouldn't want to sing these amazing songs? The hard part was choosing between his nine albums,but I had a lot of help from Don Was and from the band. I think we found the perfect balance between soulful ballads, the radio hits and the deep cut rare grooves.