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One on One with Boney James
 James "Boney James" Oppenheim is a long, long way from his humble beginnings as a sideman for Morris Day. He has two Grammy Awards, a Soul Train Music Award and the Billboard #1 debut position for his new CD, Shine, to prove it. In fact, stars like guitar legend George Benson, keyboard wizard George Duke and the inimitable Philip Bailey appear as guests on this newest James offering, along with other star notables such as vocalists Faith Evans, Ann Nesby, Esthero and Dwele. With all this going for him, James comes across as refreshingly warm in our interview. It's safe to say his is a humble spirit with an absence of music biz pretense or protocol. What you get is Boney James the man - the musician. I asked him the meaning of the name Shine and the word spirit was his first offering. He added that as he listened to the finished product in search for a suitable title, he noticed the CD has freshness to it, a new feeling - a glow. Glow is exactly what his sensitive sax textures do. They weave in and out of the track with a tasteful agility that could only come from years of ensemble play where placement is critical. The title track "Shine" bubbles like champagne in a sexy crystal flute, and Esthero is the perfect choice for the featured female vocal. She is sultry and seductive. If the first track did in fact shine, the second track sizzled and shimmered like a mirage on a hundred-plus summer day. George Duke, the guest star on "The Total Experience," need only add his special touch to a track to bring it to life in ways that are inexplicable and are specifically Duke. Any fan of Antonio Carlos Jobim will love the James treatment of "Aquas De Marco". James treats us to his soprano and tenor on this classic. Warning: If you play "Let It Go" in the car and select Repeat you may very well bypass your intended destination. It is the quintessential driving track. Once you arrived at your destination and are safely tucked away, you notice you just managed to beat the rain. Your first reaction is relief. However, when "In The Rain" begins to play you suddenly want to venture back out in it. Rarely has the prospect sounded so inviting as when James and Dwele make the offer.  This is, with all certainty, a quiet storm classic. Dwele seals the deal. When Faith Evans soulfully declares '...gonna git your lovin' on "Gonna Get It" you believe her. She gives you that something good’s cooking in the kitchen vibe. Yum! Skipping ahead to "Love Song," we find a EWF meets Babyface track. It has the Face melodic vibe with the Philip Bailey vocal magic. Add live strings, yes, I said live strings as in real violins, and it's just mo' magic. (Okay, so you knew I would dig the live violins.) After the first two bars of "Hypnotic" you know it's a smooth jazz smash - period! No ifs, ands or buts, as my mother used to say. James and Benson are hotter than a family reunion grill. I don't know why they didn't title this cut "Family Reunion Grill" - maybe the next CD. Let's fast forward once again to one of the most beautiful tracks on the collection - Chuck Mangione's "Soft." James' tenor serenades Nesby, and Ann Nesby is simply angelic. Nesby, a very soulful angel, takes you on a magic carpet ride, floating past the softest, fluffiest clouds you can imagine. And then it's done. Here are twelve scrumptious tracks to add to your favorites list.  I wondered how James viewed the world through his own viewfinder now that he's ten CDs into his solo career and has had the unique opportunity to frequently travel the globe. He noted that music, as the universal language, has the power to bring people together. I, for one, have a feeling Boney James' music will continue to bring people together for a very long time to come. Bravo! Article published in Dallas Weekly |
Dangerous Times
| Cali's on fire, Georgia's praying for rain and Nagin's New Orleans is flooded again. Healthcare and public education are in crisis and jobs have been NAFTA'd overseas. Gazillionaire Bill Gates actually recommends we farm our brain talent off shore to India. Our children's futures are at great risk. Diversity, racial tolerance and justice are on the decline while crime rates and police brutality are on the rise - or, shall we say, the exposure of brutality is on the rise. Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, is now nicknamed Killadelphia. How can I talk about CDs and Grammy Awards when over a million people have been evacuated from their California homes? How can you think about buying a CD or attending a concert when you and the rest of America are waiting for the Feds to bail out your banks so you can avoid foreclosure? Marvin and Teddy began their careers singing love songs and went on to sing "What's Going On" and "Wake Up Everybody." I have to talk about what's going on. Coltrane started out playing pop tunes and later found himself lost in a Sidd-harthalike spiritual sojourn that transformed his music for the remainder of his career. The thought of standing in the town square playing my violin, oblivious to the world around me, seems selfindulgent and reminiscent of Nero fiddling the day away while he watched Rome burn - all the while, blaming the fire on the Christians. These are dangerous times. Our troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan. Blackwater is not helping matters. Bush warns a nuclear Iran would mean WWIII. "If Iran had a nuclear weapon, it'd be a dangerous threat to world peace," he said. Russian President Vladmir Putin said, "Not only should we reject the use of force, but also the mention of force as a possibility." Speaking of Russia, I recently attended an ordination service where the new Archbishop identified his new diocese as the descendent of a diocese in the Ukraine and in Russia. The bishop and the four bishops he ordained were all African American. Confused yet? I was! Israel warns WWIII may be the Biblical war of Gog and Magog. (See: Ezekiel 38:18; also the Al-Qur'an 18:94, 21:96) This really gets deep. The prophecy of Gog and Magog predicts a great war centered on the Holy Land and Jerusalem. There are Israelis who suggest the alliances will be the U.S., England, France, Germany and Israel versus Russia, China, Syria and North Korea. By the way, did you know that Judaism is practiced by less than one half a percent of the world's population as compared to Christianity's 30-plus percent, Islam's near 20 percent and Hinduism's 14 percent? President Truman made the United States the first nation to recognize the state of Israel in 1948, and every American president since has made aid to Israel a foreign policy priority to the tune of billions of dollars each year? Truman admitted that he went against the advice and counsel of cabinet members because of his Christian beliefs. Ironically, years later Anti-Defamation League head Abe Foxman denounced the New Testament of the Bible as anti-Semitic. Truman must be turning slowly in his grave. This may be a good time to rosin my bow. Anti-Semitism notwithstanding, the Catholic Church cannot seem to close the chapter on its molestation cases while prominent TV ministers are embroiled in their own scandal stew. You may, in fact, find a lot more in common between the Roman Catholic Church and your Protestant denomination than scandal as you familiarize yourself with the term Apostolic Succession. Apostolic Succession is said to be an uninterrupted, two-thousand year documented succession of bishops beginning with the Apostle Paul, (some Catholics say it was Peter), the first Bishop of Rome, continuing with some of your most popular celebrity bishops of today. It's worth a Google or two. If you're a member of a mega-church, you should be interested. Next Bible study class, ask about the church's governing body. Also, be mindful if new practices begin to appear - particularly if they have a pagan slant to them - rams horns, swords, and language you're not familiar with. These are dangerous times and religious practices are not immune to attack. You might want to pay attention to what it is and who it is you are worshipping not to mention what your money is really supporting - another election campaign or Christians for Israel. As multi-national corporations/ministries, interest in emerging markets goes beyond economies of scale and profits to conversions. You may be converted if you're not paying attention. Few things excite Christian leaders more than conversions - Islam to Christianity or anything else to Christianity - for that matter. China is today's most coveted conversion opportunity in the world. Only one question remains. How soon should you begin to study Chinese? It's estimated more than five million people attend church services regularly and another 10-15 million attend occasionally all bringing in roughly seven billion dollars gross revenue annually. If China and India come on board in the next several years that seven billion will be a drop in the bucket. Perhaps that alone is worth cross denomination cooperation. Is this the next step to what the first George Bush referred to as the New World Order? Proverbs 24:5 says, "Wise people have great power, and those with knowledge have great strength." I pray for wisdom and knowledge for us all because we're going to need it - these are dangerous times. Article published in Dallas Weekly |