Stafford James (born April 24, 1946) is an American

double-bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

/ref>

Biography

Stafford James was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

. From ages 6 to 11 he was a left handed violinist in the school orchestra. He also possessed drawing skills, and at 13 he started to work in the atelier of Chicago church architect

Barry Byrne Francis Barry Byrne (December 19, 1883 – December 18, 1967) was a member of the group of architects known as the Prairie School. After the demise of the Prairie School, about 1914 to 1916, Byrne continued as a successful architect by dev ...

as a tracer. By age 16 he started designing desert habitation structures in the

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

style with the urging of Mr. Byrne. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

era he enlisted in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

; after his discharge he studied contrabass at the Chicago Conservatory College with Rudolf Fahsbender of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

. In 1969 he moved to New York City and studied under Julius Levine at the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ca ...

. There, in New York, he met

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

, with whom he played his first jazz concerts in New York. James played with

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis ...

and

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

at the end of the 1960s as well. Soon after he worked with

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...

and

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

. He did the first road tour of the Broadway show ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' and toured Canada with them in 1970. In 1971 he met

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

, and played with her as part of the

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

Revue including Artie Johnson,

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major studio films to feature black casts, including ''Car ...

and

Fred Travalena Frederick Albert Travalena III (October 6, 1942 – June 28, 2009) was a U.S. entertainer, specializing in comedy and impressions. Early life Bronx, New York-born and Long Island-raised, Travalena moved to Los Angeles and developed a multi ...

. Other performances in the early 1970s included performances 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 ...

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

Al Haig Alan Warren Haig (July 19, 1922 – November 16, 1982) was an American jazz pianist, best known as one of the pioneers of bebop. Biography Haig was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in nearby Nutley. In 1940, he majored in piano at Obe ...

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

, Andrew Hill,

Andrew Cyrille Andrew Charles Cyrille (born November 10, 1939) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his career, he has performed both as a leader and a sideman in the bands of Walt Dickerson and Cecil Taylor, among others. AllMusic biographe ...

, and

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...

. In 1973 he toured Europe for the first time with

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

. In 1974, he was a member of

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

's Jazz Messengers. At the same time he met

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inter ...

and

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

. During this period, he started teaching at the

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City, established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with New York's school sys ...

in New York City. His first album as a leader in 1975 on the Horo Records label featured Enrico Rava, Dave Burrell and Beaver Harris. In 1976 he founded a quintet, featuring bass, cello, saxophones, drums and percussion which also toured Europe. He met

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

there while touring with

Al Cohn Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zo ...

and recorded his album ''Homecoming'' with him upon his return to the United States. He then toured Europe with

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

and performed on his album '' Rough House''. In 1978 he recorded his second album as a bandleader, ''The Stafford James Ensemble'', featuring

Frank Strozier Frank R. Strozier Jr. (born June 13, 1937) is a jazz alto saxophonist. Strozier was born in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned to play piano. In 1954, he moved to Chicago, where he performed with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, and Booker Littl ...

Harold Mabern Harold Mabern Jr. (March 20, 1936 – September 17, 2019) was an American jazz pianist and composer, principally in the hard bop, post-bop, and soul jazz fields.Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''. p. 42 ...

and

Louis Hayes Louis Hayes (born May 31, 1937) is an American jazz drummer and band leader. He was with McCoy Tyner's trio for more than three years. Since 1989 he has led his own band, and together with Vincent Herring formed the Cannonball Legacy Band. He i ...

. In the early 1980s James toured Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, and South America. In 1983 he began collaborating with

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually co ...

, and did more work with

, including a world tour with the

United States Information Service The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill C ...

. In 1986, he composed an ''Ethiopia Suite'' for two basses, string ensemble, drums and 10 dancers for the ''Celebrate Brooklyn Dance Festival'' in a collaboration with choreographer

Stephan Koplowitz Stephan Koplowitz is a director and choreographer and media artist specializing in site-specific multimedia performances. Since the 1980s, Koplowitz, an international site artist and former Dean of Dance at CalArts, has dedicated himself to site ...

. That same year, he toured in Canada performing the music of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and then with his return to the United States arranged compositions by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

for an trio ensemble consisting of himself, pianist

Mulgrew Miller Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in ...

and cellist

Akua Dixon Akua Dixon is an American composer, classical cellist, and lawyer . Early years Dixon was born and raised in New York City. Her early musical experience included singing in a Baptist church. She was educated at the High School of Performing Arts ...

. In 1987 he composed ''Sonatina'' for

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

and double bass, premiered at Bates Recital Hall at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and at the European Music Festival in

Stuttgart, Germany Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...

in 1988. That year he also had a part in an episode of the NBC-TV comedy-drama,

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on NBC from May 21, 1987 to June 29, 1988 and on Lifetime from April 17, 1989 to April 13, 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and stars Blair Brown in ...

starring

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ( ...

. In 1989 James moved to Paris, collaborating with

Barney Wilen Bernard "Barney" Jean Wilen (4 March 1937 – 25 May 1996) was a French tenor and soprano saxophonist and jazz composer. Life Wilen was born in Nice, France; his father was an American dentist turned inventor, and his mother was French. He began ...

and La Velle, after which he formed the Stafford James Project and then studied with

Ludwig Streicher Ludwig Streicher (26 June 1920 – 11 March 2003) was a contrabassist from Vienna, Austria. Familiar to many as the former principal bass of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and bass soloist, he is also known as an instructor and as the author ...

in Vienna, Austria. In 1991 he played

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's ...

'' on tour with the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra of

Lviv, Ukraine Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, after the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

during

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

for their first tour of Western Europe. Flautist

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

was a guest artist for one of the performances. In 1992 he toured with trumpeter

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

as part of the

All-Stars group performing in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

Leipzig, Germany Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's L ...

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Groningen, Netherlands Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. In 1994 Stafford James played in his trio with pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs and drummer

Ronnie Burrage Ronnie Burrage (born James Ronaldo Burrage October 19, 1959) is an American jazz drummer. His style draws from jazz, funk, and soul. Career He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Burrage sang in the St. Louis Cathedral boys' choir f ...

. He then composed ''Les Alpes aux Carpates'' for solo bass, two pan flutes, string orchestra, women's choir, synthesizers and drums in 1995 and premiered the work in Die, France. In 1998 he toured Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, and Italy in a quartet with

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in th ...

, Anga Diaz (later

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for e ...

), and

. In that same year he was awarded the Civitella Ranieri Fellowship,

Umbertide Umbertide () is a town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia and in northwestern Umbria, at the confluence of the Reggia river and the Tiber. It is 30 km (19 mi) North of Perugia and 20 km (12 mi) South ...

, Italy, to compose new music for contrabass soloist and orchestra. In 1999 he was invited to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In 2001 he recorded his third album, ''Le Gecko'', in co-production with the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

radio of

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

. The album also features

and Gene Jackson. During this period there were also recordings with

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

and

Nederlandse Programma Stichting NPS (Nederlandse Programma Stichting) (English: Dutch Programme Foundation) was a Dutch government-funded radio and TV broadcasting foundation. In the Dutch public broadcasting system, broadcasters – in the Dutch context, listener and viewer a ...

of the Netherlands. In 2005 he re-formed his seven-piece string ensemble consisting of solo bass, rhythmic bass, string quartet and drums with tours in Austria, Germany and France. Also in 2005, the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

included his compositions into the

Regenstein Library The Joseph Regenstein Library, commonly known as "The Reg" is the main library of the University of Chicago, named after industrialist and philanthropist Joseph Regenstein. It is one of the largest repositories of books in the world and is noted ...

. In 2008, his new recording ''The Stafford James String Ensemble'' was released by Staja Music, featuring Ralph Morrison, Sara Parkins, Jennie Hansen, Wolf Sebastian and Douglas Sides. In 2009, James taught master classes at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

Graz, Austria Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

, Bruckner University,

Linz, Austria Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and tours with members of the

Bruckner Orchestra Linz The Bruckner Orchester Linz is an Austrian orchestra based in Linz. Named for Anton Bruckner, the orchestra is the concert orchestra for the state of Upper Austria, and also the opera orchestra at the Landestheater Linz (Upper Austrian State Theat ...

, Austria and concerts in the United States. In 2010, the Chicago-based

WFMT Radio Network WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, Chicago ...

, which is the official radio station of both the

and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, did a two-hour program on his life and compositions, entitled ''Composing for the Contrabass''. In 2011, James became founder and president of Top Hat Music Society, Inc., a dinner/concert music series including Jazz, Classical, Operetta and Cabaret with international artists. Also in 2011, Stafford's composition "That's what dreams are made of" was utilized in the French television series ' by

Pierre Palmade Pierre Palmade (born 23 March 1968) is a French actor, comedian, stage director and playwright. Biography Pierre Palmade began his career in sketch comedy shows on stage and on television in the late 1980s, and in the 1990s he wrote and played ...

. In 2012, The Stafford James String Ensemble recorded a new album, ''Round About Midnight'', "live" in Chicago. Also in that same year he married Gunda Hennig of

Bremen, Germany Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. They were married in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had worked with

. In 2013, the Stafford James String and Percussion Ensemble with special guest

M'Boom M'Boom is an American jazz percussion group founded by drummer Max Roach in 1970. The original members were Roach, Roy Brooks, Warren Smith, Joe Chambers, Omar Clay, Ray Mantilla, and Freddie Waits. All of M'Boom's members are and always have be ...

(the percussion ensemble of

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

), performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival's

Pritzker Pavilion Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center near ...

. Musicians included: Richard Davis,

Ray Mantilla Raymond Mantilla (June 22, 1934 – March 21, 2020) was an American percussionist. Discography As leader * ''Mantilla'' (Inner City, 1978) * ''Hands of Fire'' (Red, 1984) * ''Synergy'' (Red, 1986) * ''Dark Powers'' (Red, 1988) * ''The Next Step ...

, Warren Smith, Ely Fountain, Geraldo de Oliveira, Geof Bradfield, Scott Hesse, String Quartet with Carol Lahti, Becky Coffman, Vannia Phillips, Andrew Snow and Stafford James as soloist. In 2015, the Stafford James Strings, Percussion and Horns Ensemble toured Europe, performing original compositions in tandem with compositions by other Jazz composers. The arrangements by Stafford James featured contrabass soloist, harp, string quartet, flute, trumpet doubling on flugelhorn, saxes doubling on bass clarinet, trombone, tuba, guitar, support bass, drums and percussion. The presentation is that of a double bass concerto. 2016-17 there was a new series of three productions in Chicago of the Stafford James Strings, Percussion and Horns Ensemble, a string quartet and a string quintet at the EDGE Theater located in

Edgewater, Chicago Edgewater is a lakefront community area on the North Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois six miles north of the Loop. The last of the city's 77 official community areas, Edgewater is bounded by Foster Avenue on the south, Devon Avenue on the ...

. The series was produced by Top Hat Music Society. The first Strings, Percussion and Horns Ensemble concert (December 8, 2016) was recorded live by Eric Arunas of the

. This was then followed with a masterclass and performance 2017 at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and a European tour. 2019 Roxxon Records & Tapes of Hannover, Germany releases the Stafford James String Ensemble "Live" recorded in both Zürich and Chicago.

Discography

As leader

* ''Stafford James'' ( Horo, 1976) * ''Stafford James Ensemble'' (

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

, 1979)

Allmusic review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

/ref> * ''Le Gecko'' ( WDR, 2001) * ''A Song for Our Heroes'' (Staja, 2008) * ''Round About Midnight'' (Staja, 2012) * ''Stafford James String Ensemble "Live"'' ( Roxxon Records & Tapes, 2019)

As sideman

With

* ''

New Directions in Modern Music ''New Directions in Modern Music'' is a live album by the Rashied Ali Quartet. It was recorded at The East in Brooklyn, New York, during 1971, and was released in 1973 by Ali's Survival Records. On the album, Ali is featured on drums and percussio ...

'' (

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

, 1973) With

* '' The Last Album'' (Impulse!) * Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe (Impulse!) With

* ''

Juju Street Songs ''Juju Street Songs'' is an album by saxophonist Gary Bartz's NTU Troop recorded in 1972 and released on the Prestige label.I've Known Rivers'' (Prestige, 1973) With

* '' Celebration'' (IPS, 1975) With Kenny Gill *''

What Was What Is What Will Be What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' Wha ...

'' (Raccoon, 1970) With

* ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

'' (Columbia, 1976) With

Bill Hardman William Franklin Hardman Jr. (April 6, 1933 – December 6, 1990) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist who chiefly played hard bop. He was married to Roseline and they had a daughter Nadege. Career Hardman was born and grew ...

*''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' (Muse, 1980

984 Year 984 ( CMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – German boy-king Otto III (4-years old) is seized by the deposed Henry II ...

With

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Ichi-Ban ''Ichi-Ban'' is an album by the Louis Hayes – Junior Cook Quintet featuring Woody Shaw recorded in 1976 and released on the Dutch Timeless label and on Timeless Muse in the U.S.Timeless, 1976) with

Junior Cook Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. Biography Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook was a member of the Horace Silver Quin ...

* ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

'' (Muse, 1977) With

* '' Peer Pleasure'' (Landmark, 1987) With LaVelle * ''Tribute to Nat "King" Cole'' (OMD Records, 1990) With

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Art ...

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Heavy Spirits ''Heavy Spirits'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Oliver Lake, which was recorded in 1975 and released on the Arista Freedom label. The album features Lake playing in different settings: three quintet tracks with Olu Dara on trumpet, Don ...

'' (Arista Freedom, 1975) With

Ronnie Mathews Ronald Mathews (December 2, 1935 in New York City – June 28, 2008 in Brooklyn) was an American jazz pianist who worked with Max Roach from 1963 to 1968 and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He acted as lead in recording from 1963 and 1978–79. His ...

*''Selena's Dance'' (Timeless, 1988) With

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

* ''

Casbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...

'' (Empathy, 1986) With

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

* ''

Inside Job An insider threat is a malicious threat to an organization that comes from people within the organization, such as employees, former employees, contractors or business associates, who have inside information concerning the organization's security ...

'' (Arista/Freedom, 1976) With

* '' Moon Child'' (Timeless, 1990) * '' Welcome to Love'' (Timeless, 1991) With

* ''

Little Red's Fantasy ''Little Red's Fantasy'' is an album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in 1976 and released on the Muse label.The Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage ''The Woody Shaw Concert Ensemble at the Berliner Jazztage'' is a live album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded at the JazzFest Berlin in 1976 and released on the Muse label.For Sure!'' (Columbia, 1979) * ''

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'' (Columbia, 1981) * ''

Lotus Flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often ref ...

'' (Enja, 1982) * ''

Master of the Art ''Master of the Art'' is a live album led by trumpeter Woody Shaw which was recorded in New York City on 25 February 1982 at the Jazz Forum and released on the Elektra/Musician label.

'' (Elektra Music, 1982) * '' Night Music'' (Elektra, 1982)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Stafford American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Jazz musicians from Illinois 1946 births Living people 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians