Contact (Boney James album)

Contact
Studio album by
Boney James
ReleasedMarch 29, 2011 (2011-03-29)
Recorded2010
GenreSmooth jazz
Length48:15
LabelVerve
ProducerBoney James
Boney James chronology
Send One Your Love
(2009) 		Contact
(2011) 		The Beat
(2013)

Contact is the thirteenth studio album by jazz saxophonist Boney James, released in 2011.[1][2]

Background and recording

James was part way through the recording of the album in 2010 when he was rear-ended by a drunk driver while sitting in traffic, suffering a fractured jaw, facial cuts, and losing two teeth.[1] He was unable to play sax for six weeks as a result, and used this time to focus on writing for the album.[1][3]

Of the album's title, James stated "Some of these songs had more of an energy even as I was starting, which is the first reason why I called it Contact. I thought of an airplane propeller being spun around."[3]

The album features vocals from LeToya Luckett (on "When I Had the Chance"), Mario (on "That Look on Your Face"), Heather Headley (on "I'm Waiting"), and Donell Jones (on "Close to You").[2] It also features Dean Parks on guitar, and Mark Stephens on piano.[2]

Two singles were taken from the album, "Contact" and "When I Had the Chance".[1]

Reception and chart performance

Contact received positive reviews from JazzTimes and Allmusic (Thom Jurek calling it "a bright spot in James' catalog").[2][4]

The album reached no. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart, and no. 53 on the Billboard 200.[5][6]

Contact was nominated for Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the Soul Train Awards.[7]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Contact"Boney James, Johnny Britt3:51
2."Close to You"James, Tim Carmon, Rex Rideout4:15
3."Spin"James, Carmon4:20
4."When I Had the Chance"James, Carmon, Lily Mariye4:06
5."Cry"James, Mark Stephens4:09
6."That Look on Your Face"James, Jon B.4:48
7."Deep Time"James, Britt, Freddie Washington4:57
8."I'm Waiting"James, Carmon, Mariye, Rideout4:13
9."There and Back"James, Stephens5:10
10."Everything Matters"James, Leon Bisquera5:00

References

  1. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Gail (March 28, 2011). "Boney James: Contact Sport". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Soergel, Brian (September 6, 2011). "Boney James: Contact". JazzTimes. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Jordan, Mark (2011) "Life's sweeter for James, his music", The Commercial Appeal, December 2, 2011.
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom "Contact Review", Allmusic. Retrieved February 9, 2018
  5. ^ "Boney James Chart History: Jazz Albums", billboard.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018
  6. ^ "Boney James Chart History: Top Album Sales", billboard.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018
  7. ^ Webb, Genea L. (2013) "Boney James: Making Good Music His Life's Work", New Pittsburgh Courier, May 1, 2013.