José James at Bowery Ballroom

José James presents No Beginning No End 2 at Bowery Ballroom, Tuesday, June 23.
Tickets: $25, starts at 7pm

Singer José James has made 9 albums that move freely between soul, R&B, pop, and jazz, with at times a heavy emphasis on the latter. 

His new song, “Nobody Knows My Name,” features guest vocals by British soul star Laura Mvula and some terrific jazz piano work by Kris Bowers, the guy who did the score for the film Green Book (and taught Mahershala Ali to play piano for that movie). Jose James did a convincing job of singing Bill Withers songs on a lengthy tribute tour; now it’s good to hear his soulful voice back with his own music.