James King is an American

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

who is a co-founder for soul band

Fitz and the Tantrums Fitz and the Tantrums are an American indie pop and neo soul band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 2008. The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, ...

. In 2008, he was approached by college friend Michael Fitzpatrick to play saxophone on a few songs that he had written which turned out to be the beginnings of Fitz and the Tantrums. King recommended

Noelle Scaggs Noelle Scaggs (born October 8, 1979) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, known as the co-lead singer of the pop group Fitz and the Tantrums. Scaggs has also had numerous collaborations with the Black Eyed Peas, Dilated ...

and other musicians. They performed for the first time a week later at Hollywood's

Hotel Café The Hotel Café is a live music venue located off an alley on the Cahuenga Boulevard strip in Hollywood, California, United States, that has become known for helping to establish the careers of new singer-songwriters in the 2000s. The venue began ...

. They released their debut EP '' Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1'' in August 2009, and the tracks soon received airplay on public radio station

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

in Los Angeles. Six months after their first performance they had slots at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

and Telluride Blues & Brews. In late 2009 they toured with Hepcat,

Flogging Molly Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk bandLife Is Good Out Now
Floggingmolly. ...

, and opened eight concerts for

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

. The band signed to

Dangerbird Records Dangerbird Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. The label is home to artists from around the world and part of the burgeoning Silver Lake music scene. The label has had international success from its small roster of ...

in April 2010, Their first full-length album, '' Pickin' Up the Pieces'' was released on August 24, 2010. It received critical acclaim and reached No. 1 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...

chart, 140 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and 18 on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart. They were called by ''

Vogue Magazine ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogue ...

'' the "Hardest Working Band of 2011". According to ''Rolling Stone'', the band "throws a sparkling pop gloss on a familiar Motown sound"

Background

King was raised by a jazz guitarist father and a classical

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

mother. They introduced him to a wide range of music from an early age. In addition to the jazz training and classical training that he started at age five, he also started learning guitar, violin and piano before settling on the flute when he was nine years old; he added the saxophone when he was 11. King studied music privately and attended

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

for his last two years of high school, after which he attended the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

(1993–1999), where he went to earn his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in jazz performance. Before, King worked on a wide range of projects in the music industry and taught at the

Silverlake Conservatory of Music Silverlake Conservatory of Music is a nonprofit educational organization formed in California. It was founded in 2001 by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Chili Peppers collaborator Tree to foster music education. Chili Peppers vocalist Anth ...

Discography

Fitz and the Tantrums

;Studio albums *2009: '' Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1'' *2010: '' Santa Stole My Lady'' *2010: '' Pickin' Up the Pieces'' *2013: ''

More Than Just a Dream ''More Than Just a Dream'' is the second studio album by American band Fitz and the Tantrums, released on May 7, 2013, by Elektra Records. The album was produced by Tony Hoffer ( Beck, M83, Depeche Mode, Phoenix) at The Sound Factory in Los Ange ...

'' *2016: ''

Other work

*2000–2010: Domingosiete ("saxofonista") *2001–2010:

Breakestra Breakestra is a ten-piece funk "orchestra" from Los Angeles, California, formed by Miles Tackett in 1996. Tackett, also known as "Musicman", records, composes, plays bass, upright cello, guitar, keyboards and drums. He also sings along with the ...

*2002–2010:

Connie Price and the Keystones Connie Price and the Keystones is a project helmed by guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Dan Ubick from Los Angeles, California, combining influences of funk, hip-hop, psych and soul. Besides Ubick, it had a revolving membership while they performe ...

*2004–2005:

Orgone Orgone () is a pseudoscientific concept variously described as an esoteric energy or hypothetical universal life force. Originally proposed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich, and developed by Reich's student Charles Kelley after Reich's death in 1 ...

*2008–2009: Composer, Nic and Tristan Go Mega-Dega *2008–2010: The Lions *2010: Performed in ''

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

'' starring

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

*2013:

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

Jonathan Wilson album, saxophone and flute *2014:

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

Mandatory Fun ''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The self-produced album was released by RCA Records in the United States on July 15, 2014, and was the final album on Yankovic's recording contract. Yankovi ...

'', saxophone

References

External links

Fitz and the Tantrums' official websiteFitz and the Tantrums
on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Music festivals interview, June 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, James Year of birth missing (living people) American soul singers California Institute of the Arts alumni Fitz and The Tantrums members Living people Place of birth missing (living people)