James Maurice Hurt Jr is an American

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

Early life

Hurt had early training as a drummer.

Career

Hurt was a member of Sherman Irby's quartet that played regularly at

Smalls Jazz Club Smalls Jazz Club is a jazz club at 183 West 10th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City. Established in 1994, it earned a reputation in the 1990s as a "hotbed for New York's jazz talent" with a "well-deserved reputation as one of the best places ...

in New York City in the late 1990s.

Gregory Tardy Gregory Tardy is an American jazz saxophonist, who has released albums for the record labels SteepleChase Records, J Curve Records, and Impulse! Records.Allmusic discography/ref> As of May 2015 he is teaching at the University of Tennessee, Knoxv ...

wrote a song after him, entitled "Mr. Hurt"; the pair played with

Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009) was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer best known for playing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Early life Patterson was born and ...

in 1999. In the 1990s, Hurt played on albums with

Antonio Hart Antonio Hart (born September 30, 1968) is a jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York. H ...

(''Here I Stand''),

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...

(''Wholly Earth''), and

Russell Gunn Russell Gunn (born October 20, 1971 in Chicago) is an American contemporary jazz trumpeter. He grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois playing trumpet. As a kid his musical interest was hip hop, with LL Cool J being his first music idol. His project ...

.Anne Legrand
James Hurt, le vampire de New York
''Citizen Jazz'', March 19, 2011 His own first album was ''Dark Grooves – Mystical Rhythms'' on

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

in 1999. In a review of the album, James Lien of ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called Hurt "one of the more adventurous young pianists to recently emerge on the New York scene." Calvin Wilson of ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'' described the album as "at once boldly experimental and totally accessible." James has played with Elizabeth Kontomanou,

Graham Haynes Graham Haynes (born September 16, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cornetist, trumpeter and composer. The son of jazz drummer Roy Haynes, Graham is known for his work in nu jazz, fusing jazz with elements of hip hop and electronic mus ...

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands. Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turntabl ...

, and composer, percussionist, and conductor

Adam Rudolph Adam Rudolph (born September 12, 1955) is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post-bop and world fusion media. In 1988, Rudolph met jazz musician Yusef Lateef, and the two would go on to collaborate and perform together for th ...

(as a percussionist), Hurt has made guest appearances with Donald Edwards, Stacy Dillard, and

Rudresh Mahanthappa Rudresh Mahanthappa (born May 4, 1971) is a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer. Biography Mahanthappa is the son of Indian emigrants to the U.S. He was born in Trieste, Italy as a result of his father's job in academia, but spent ...

. Hurt has been a piano tutor at the

New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music School of Jazz and Contemporary Music is the second conservatory of The New School. It is located on West 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. It was known as The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music before it wa ...

Discography

As leader * ''Dark Grooves, Mystical Rhythms'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 1999) As sideman *

, ''Gunn Fu'' (

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

, 1997) *

, ''Here I Stand'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

/GRP, 1997) * Sherman Irby, ''Full Circle'' (Blue Note, 1997) * Sherman Irby, ''Big Mama's Biscuits'' (Blue Note, 1998) *

, ''Wholly Earth'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

/Gitanes Jazz, 1998) *

, ''Love Requiem'' (

, 1999) * Jeffery Smith, ''Down Here Below'' (

, 1999) *

DJ Spinna Vincent E. Williamsbetter known by his stage name DJ Spinna, is an American hip hop and deep house producer from Brooklyn. According to Allmusic, he has "remained strictly an underground artist despite his astonishing talent." Life and career Spi ...

, ''

Here to There This article represents the discography of progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek. They have released six studio albums, one compilation album, as well as eight singles. Their debut live album was announced on October 2, 2020. Nickel Creek's fi ...

'' (Rapster, 2002) * DJ Spinna, ''Outta Time'' featuring the Free Radikalz (Papa, 2004) * DJ Spinna, ''Intergalactic Soul'' (Wonderwax, 2006)

References

External links

James at the Royal Family Ball @ Terminal 5
''Jambands'', October 18, 2010 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurt, James American jazz pianists American male pianists Living people 1967 births People from Memphis, Tennessee Tennessee State University alumni 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians