The Dreamer (José James album)

The Dreamer
Studio album by José James
Released January 28, 2008 (2008-01-28)
Genre Jazz, R&B, soul, hip hop
Length 56:16
Label Brownswood Recordings
Producer José James
José James chronology
The Dreamer
(2008)		 Blackmagic
(2010)Blackmagic2010
Singles from The Dreamer
  1. "Blackeyedsusan"
    Released: 2007
  2. "Park Bench People"
    Released: 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[1]
AllMusic[2]
BBCfavorable[3]
Exclaim!favorable[4]
The Guardian[5]

The Dreamer is the first studio album by American jazz vocalist José James. It was released on Brownswood Recordings in 2008.

Critical reception

John Fordham of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "James sometimes suggests a 21st-century Leon Thomas (the 1970s singer who became an acid-jazz star), but he also exhibits a highly personal mix of Bobby McFerrin's tonal delicacy and the R&B and soul feel of D'Angelo - with the latter association sometimes reinforced by the way the vocal overdubs and harmonies work."[5] Thomas Barlow of BBC said, "Stripped down and captivatingly raw, this is bonafide jazz all the way."[3]

Adam Greenberg of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "He sings contemporary jazz with a strong sense of respect for the classics, but quietly puts hip-hop instrumentation behind his vocals, and multi-tracks himself for accentuation."[2]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Dreamer"José James7:05
2."Velvet"José James4:01
3."Blackeyedsusan"José James4:56
4."Park Bench People"Freestyle Fellowship6:03
5."Spirits Up Above"Rahsaan Roland Kirk5:00
6."Nola"Bill Lee3:56
7."Red"José James5:15
8."Winter Wind"José James7:07
9."Desire"José James, Nori Ochiai7:29
10."Love"José James, Ryan Blum5:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

  • José James – vocals
  • Omar Abdulkarim – trumpet
  • Nori Ochiai – piano
  • Junior Mance – piano
  • Ryan Blum – keyboards
  • Gal Ben Haim – guitar
  • Alexi David – bass guitar, double bass
  • Luke Damrosch – drums
  • Steve Lyman – drums
  • Gilles Peterson – executive production

Charts

Chart Peak
position
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC)[6] 16

References

  1. ↑ May, Chris (January 30, 2008). "Jose James: The Dreamer (2007)". All About Jazz. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Greenberg, Adam. "José James - The Dreamer". AllMusic. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Barlow, Thomas (2008). "José James - Dreamer - Review". BBC. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ Jones, Kevin (February 20, 2008). "José James - The Dreamer". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Fordham, John (February 1, 2008). "Jose James, The Dreamer". The Guardian. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30: 03 February 2008 - 09 February 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
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