Music has been coursing through smoldering jazz vocalist Andy James’ being since she was a little girl. Twice blessed as a gifted singer and dancer, Andy decided her showbiz act one would be a career as a world-class Flamenco dancer, collaborating with the milieu’s most exceptional. Now, she announces, act two, a career as a stunning jazz singer with an irresistible 40s swing-style debut album, Caravan. 

“My father loved dancing, my mother love singing, and I loved my father,” says the Las Vegas and LA-based singer, laughing playfully, acknowledging her respect and affection for both her parents. “I sang as a child, but I went back and forth between singing and dance. Both my parents were always encouraging. My mother was a jazz singer, so that was close to her heart.” 

Andy James’ debut, Caravan, resides in the smoky elegance of the classic 1930-1905s female swing vocal tradition, recalling high-watermark recordings by Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, and Julie London.  Also, Andy’s vocals exhibit a burnished soulfulness that touches upon soul and gospel titans such as Mahalia Jackson, Ray Charles, and Sam Cooke. 

Despite Caravan being Andy’s debut release, it’s a life’s work documented in the now. Andy emerged a fully formed artist and, on the strength of her talents, has been able to work with a diverse list of industry heavyweights, including mix and mastering engineer Josh Connolly (Justin Bieber, Santana, Pharell Williams); platinum mastering engineer Bernie Grundman (Carol King, Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, Prince); in-demand producer Piero Pata; noted vocal producer Zeffin Quinn Hollis ( Les Misérables, The Fantasticks, and Company); and big band jazz icon, Grammy Award-winner and Emmy-nominee Bill Cunliffe. 

Despite stints singing in a rock band (The Late Late Show), and playing bass professionally (the Australian Tour production of The Rocky Horror Picture), it’s Andy’s gifts as a dancer that first thrust her into the public spotlight. In this realm, she had an inter-continental career, first dancing Flamenco in Australia, and, later, in Madrid, alongside the greatest Flamenco artists of the day, including Antonio Canales, Rafael Amargo, and Paco de Lucia. “Flamenco is based on feeling complex offbeat and synchronized rhythms, and I think that prepared me for singing jazz melodies,” Andy opines. 

Caravan’s 15-tracks showcase the rare artistic feat where a vocalist can dust off the emotionality of a timeless jazz standard with sensitivity and flair. Highlights on the album include the Ellington classic title track, an imaginative reading of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” the 1946 chestnut by Matt Dennis and Earl Brent “Angel Eyes,” and Rogers and Hart’s “It Never Entered My Mind.” 

Throughout the album, Andy’s sensual vocals are sympathetically accompanied by a piano-driven jazz combo that can swing from the rafters when the tempo gets brisk, but also navigate ballad settings with silken grace. “Caravan” is a special selection as it was one of Andy’s mother’s favorite songs and the recording ties in with her background in dance. Her rendition boasts mystical Eastern tonality textures and an irresistible beat. If you listen very closely to the track’s rhythms, you can hear Andy’s fancy footwork as she dances to the track on a mic-ed wooden plank. On “Angel Eyes,” Andy’s rich-toned vocals and expressive vibrato conjure the song’s haunting hopelessness. The slow-burn beauty of “It Never Entered My Mind” is another achingly beautiful highlight. Andy’s hard-swinging version of the Beatles “Blackbird” showcases her soulful phrasing amidst a jaunty, upbeat groove. 

Up next, Andy is preparing to share her music with exclusive regional performances, and she is also putting the finishing touches on a lush big band album to be released summer 2018 titled, All The Lovely Things You Are. In conclusion, Andy says: “I felt it was time I shared this side of me, my singing, and I’m proud of what I, and these musicians, did together on this album. I loved doing it all, and I will continue on this path. I think my mom would be pleasantly surprised by this.”

JOHN PATITUCCI WAS BORN IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK IN 1959 AND BEGAN PLAYING THE ELECTRIC BASS AT AGE TEN. HE BEGAN PERFORMING AND COMPOSING AT AGE 12, AT AGE 15 BEGAN TO PLAY THE ACOUSTIC BASS, AND THEN STARTED THE PIANO AT AGE 16. HE QUICKLY MOVED FROM PLAYING SOUL AND ROCK TO BLUES, JAZZ AND CLASSICAL MUSIC. HIS ECLECTIC TASTES CAUSED HIM TO EXPLORE ALL TYPES OF MUSIC AS A PLAYER AND A COMPOSER.

John studied classical bass at San Francisco State University and Long Beach State University. In 1980, he continued his career in Los Angeles as a studio musician and a jazz artist. As a studio musician, John has played on countless albums with artists such as B. B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, Was Not Was, Dave Grusin, Natalie Cole, Bon Jovi, Sting, Queen Latifah and Carly Simon. In 1986, John was voted by his peers in the studios as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences MVP on Acoustic Bass.
As a performer, John has played throughout the world with his own band and with jazz luminaries Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Michael Brecker, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Hubert Laws, Hank Jones, Mulgrew Miller, James Williams, Kenny Werner and scores of others. Some of the many pop and Brazilian artists he has played with include Sting, Aaron Neville, Natalie Cole, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Milton Nascimiento, Astrud and Joao Gilberto, Airto and Flora Purim, Ivan Lins, Joao Bosco and Dori Caymmi.

John has also worked with film composers Jerry Goldsmith, Ry Cooder, James Newton Howard, Dave Grusin, Henry Mancini, John Williams, Mark Isham, Michel Colombier, Carter Burwell and Howard Shore and many others.

SINCE 1985, HIS ASSOCIATION WITH CHICK COREA HAS BROUGHT HIM WORLDWIDE ACCLAIM AND PUT HIM AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE JAZZ WORLD. HIS MANY RECORDINGS WITH CHICK COREA’S ELEKTRIC BAND AND AKOUSTIC BAND, HIS SIX SOLO RECORDINGS FOR GRP RECORDS AND HIS SUBSEQUENT RECORDINGS HAVE BROUGHT HIM TWO GRAMMY AWARDS (ONE FOR PLAYING AND ONE FOR COMPOSING) AND OVER FIFTEEN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS. IN ADDITION, HIS FIRST SOLO RECORDING, JOHN PATITUCCI, WENT TO NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD JAZZ CHARTS. JOHN ARRANGED AND PRODUCED ALL OF HIS OWN RECORDS AS WELL AS THOSE OF OTHER ARTISTS. IN 1996, HE SIGNED WITH CONCORD JAZZ AND RELEASED SEVEN RECORDS ON THEIR LABEL: ONE MORE ANGEL; NOW; IMPRINT; COMMUNION; SONGS, STORIES AND SPIRITUALS; LINE BY LINE; AND REMEMBRANCE. TWO OF THOSE RELEASES WERE NOMINATED FOR GRAMMY AWARDS IN THE COMPOSITION CATEGORY.

After exploring many different writing styles on his own records and those of Chick Corea’s, John continued to compose for many mediums. In 1994 he was commissioned to write a piece for six-string electric bass and string orchestra for the Italian chamber orchestra Suono e Oltre in Pescara, Italy. With John as soloist, the piece was performed in March 1995 in Italy and in August 1995 with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Tokyo. John has also been commissioned to write pieces for the Turtle Island String Quartet, violist Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson String Quartet, classical piano virtuoso Ann Schein, and the string quartet Elements, among others. John has had several premieres of his other chamber music compositions, including at the Chelsea Music Festival in New York in July 2011 and BargeMusic in Brooklyn, also in 2011. In April 2012, John’s piece Fantasy on a River Theme was premiered at Jordan Hall in Boston with John as soloist with the Berklee College of Music Contemporary Symphony Orchestra. John continues to be commissioned as a composer and is a featured performer on many recordings.

In 2000, John began touring again with the legendary Wayne Shorter, and the Wayne Shorter Quartet, featuring Danilo Perez on piano and Brian Blade on drums, has received worldwide acclaim for its performances and recordings. Their live recording Footprints Live was nominated for a Grammy in 2001 and a studio recording, Alegria, won a Grammy in 2003. Another CD, Beyond the Sound Barrier, won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Album in 2005. In 2006, the Quartet won the 2006 Jazz Journalists Award for Best Small Ensemble. The quartet continues to tour extensively around the world to rave reviews.

When John is not touring with his own band or the Wayne Shorter Quartet, he has found time to perform in other ensembles, such as the an all-star quintet Directions in Music, in 2001, which was led by Herbie Hancock and featured the late Michael Brecker on saxophone with Roy Hargrove on trumpet and Brian Blade on drums. They released a subsequent live CD entitled Live at Massey Hall, which also won a Grammy award.

BRITISH COMPOSER MARK ANTHONY TURNAGE AND JOHN COLLABORATED ON THREE LARGE PROJECTS IN 2007 AND SUBSEQUENTLY. THE FIRST IS A PIECE ENTITLED ABOUT WATER, WHICH FEATURED JOHN AS ONE OF SEVERAL SOLOISTS WITH THE LONDON SINFONIETTA IN CELEBRATION OF THE REOPENING OF THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE IN LONDON. MARK WROTE A COMPOSITION FOR JOHN AS SOLOIST ON BOTH ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC BASSES WITH STRING ORCHESTRA ENTITLED A PRAYER OUT OF STILLNESS. JOHN PERFORMED THIS PIECE WITH THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRAS IN SCOTLAND, ESTONIA AND NORWAY AND WITH THE ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DAVID ROBERTSON. JOHN HAS ALSO PERFORMED ON A TURNAGE PIECE ENTITLED SCORCHED WITH GUITARIST JOHN SCOFIELD AND DRUMMER PETER ERSKINE, WHICH FEATURES THE MUSIC OF JOHN SCOFIELD.

In 2009, John released his recording Remembrance, which features saxophone genius Joe Lovano and drum virtuoso Brian Blade and received rousing reviews. Remembrance was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album of 2009. The trio enjoyed highly acclaimed and well-received performances at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York and the Monterey Jazz Festival in California, among others.

In 2015, John released his fourteenth solo recording, Brooklyn, on his own label, Three Faces Records. The recording features his latest band, “The John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet”, with Adam Rogers and Steve Cardenas on electric guitars, Brian Blade on bass and John playing electric basses exclusively. A documentary filmed by August Sky Films was just released in early 2016 and combines performance footage, behind the scenes footage of rehearsals and the recording of Brooklyn. The film also takes a look at John’s early years in Brooklyn, his music career and his home life through candid interviews with family and musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter.

In 2015, John, Danilo Perez and Brian Blade released their first recording, Children of the Light, which is also the name of their new trio. Children of the Light toured extensively in 2015 and will continue to do so in 2016 and beyond.

John has always felt a call to mentor and teach young musicians and to help further and sustain the art of jazz and bass playing around the world. In 2002, following the retirement of Ron Carter, John began teaching at The City College of New York and was a Professor of Jazz Studies there for ten years. He has also been involved with the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in Washington, D.C. and the The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. John is a frequent clinician and guest lecturer at schools around the world and a regular featured performer at the International Society of Bassists conventions. In 2010, John began his involvement with the Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute, spearheaded by pianist Danilo Perez. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at Berklee, teaching in both the Global Jazz Institute and the Bass Department.

John currently resides in New York with his wife Sachi, a cellist, and their two daughters.

Alex Acuña...

Born in Pativilca, Peru, 100 miles north of Lima, Alex Acuña was born into a musical family that inspired him and helped shape him as a musician. His father and five brothers were all musicians. Alex taught himself how to play the drums from the age of four. By the time Alex turned ten, he was already playing in local bands. As a teenager, he moved to Lima and became one of Peru's most accomplished session drummers, performing on many recording projects for artists, as well as film and television productions.

In Lima, Alex also earned a glowing reputation for his live performances. So much so, that at the age of eighteen, Alex was chosen by the great Latin band leader, Perez Prado, to join his big band. It was with the Prado band that Alex first traveled to the United States. In 1967, Alex moved to Puerto Rico to work as a studio musician and play locally. During this period, he also studied for three years at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, playing as a classical percussionist with the Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the famed Spanish cellist master Pablo Casals.

Alex moved to Las Vegas in 1974, where he played with such greats as Elvis Presley and Diana Ross. Between 1975 and 1977, he made part of jazz history when he became both drummer and percussionist for one of the most innovative and pioneering jazz groups of our time, Weather Report. He first performed as percussionist (October 1975 to April 1976), and later as drummer (April 1976 to October 1977). He recorded two albums with the group: "Black Market" (1976) and the highly successful "Heavy Weather" (1977), which included the famous tracks "Birdland" and "Havona." "Heavy Weather" became the first jazz-fusion album to sell a million copies.

Alex next moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where he quickly earned the position of a valued session drummer and percussionist for recordings, television and motion pictures. His countless album credits include such diverse artist as U2, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, Sergio Mendes, Yellow Jackets, Chic Corea, Julio Iglesias, Koinonia, Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, Placido Domingo, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and many more. Alex has also performed live with the likes of Al Jarreau, Roberta Flack, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Gipsy Kings, Paco de Lucia, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Christina Aguilera and Tito Puente, to name a few. Additionally, Alex has recorded film scores under the direction of Dave Grusin, Alan Silvestri, Michele Legrand, Bill Conti, Michele Colombier, Marvin Hamlish, Maurice Jarre, Mark Isham, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Lalo Schiffrin and others. He became the recipient of many awards and honors including the Emeritus MVP award from NARAS (National Academy of Recording for the Arts and Sciences) and winner of the "Best Latin/Brazilian Percussionist" of Modern Drummer's Readers Poll for five consecutive years.

Alex's South American and Caribbean roots and understanding of contemporary and classical music make him a complete and skilled master musician. In 2000, Alex Acuña y Su Acuarela De Tambores received a Grammy nomination for "Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album" for "Rhythms for a New Millennium". This solo album included varying styles of Latin, South American and African percussion. The nomination confirmed Alex's vast knowledge and expertise of percussion rhythms. Zan Stewart of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Alex Acuña is the epitome of the world music percussionist, to whom no style is a stranger". In addition, Alex has composed music for various artists and produced "Thinking of You" by Alex Acuña and the Unknowns, "Rumberos Poetry" by Tolú and "Aliyah" by Kay Silberling. This year will also see the release of Tolú's "Bongo de Van Gogh," the Unknowns follow-up album, and several projects for NIDO Entertainment.

Alex is widely known as an educator, gifted teacher and clinician of drums and percussion. He has recorded four solo instructional videos and provides seminars at universities such as UC Los Angeles, Berklee School of Music in Boston and other top international schools of music. DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Gon Bops Percussion, Gibraltar, Vic Firth, Evans and Shure microphones all sponsor Alex. He is also credited with the design of Zildjian's "Azuka" line of cymbals, signature Vic Firth sticks and the caddy stick bag, the Alex Acuña signature line of congas, bongos, timbales, cajons, and bells from Gon Bops Percussion.

Innovation, energy and pure heart characterize Alex's playing. It is easy to see why Alex Acuña is one of the most sought after musicians of our time. Alex recognizes his music as a gift from the Lord and gives all the glory to God!