James Colin

In 1993, Colin James did the unthinkable, he followed-up two hugely successful rock records with an album of obscure “jump blues” for a project he dubbed “The Little Big Band” When news of the move hit the streets it was met with a certain amount of skepticism. In the end, Colin James and The Little Big Band sold over 200,000 copies in Canada. Since then, big band music has surged in popularity with fans all around the globe. With the release of Colin James and The Little Big Band II, Colin revisits the era, bringing the music of Cab Calloway, Jimmy Wilson and Calvin Bowes to a whole new generation.

It’s no wonder Colin James has had an affinity for this kind of music before it ever appeared on the ’90’s radar screen. “I’ve always found the whole amazing legacy of this music fascinating,” says James. “I have been playing some of these songs since I was 18. There was a great period between when the big band days were waning and rock n’ roll was just emerging, from about ’49 to ’55, when bands were scaling down there horn sections and infusing it with rock, which wasn’t even called rock. It was a magical era that I have always had a fondness for.” James says the growing interest in jump blues confirmed the notion that great music always finds an audience. “I had originally intended the first album to be a one-off. But then I saw how the audience for it was growing. Despite its success, I had to wait until now to record this new record otherwise my heart would not have been in it.

Recording the new album was no easy task. First Colin put together a list of 90 potential tracks to record that was pared down to 20 with the help of co-producer Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Jeff Healy, Tom Cochrane). Next came the actual task of recording. The plan was to record all of the bed tracks live off the floor which meant recording all 20 tracks in just three days.

Joining Colin in Mushroom Studios were such renowned players as drummer George Rains (Boz Scaggs, Jimmy Vaughan) and saxophonist Greg Piccolo from Room Full Of Blues. Kaz Kazanoff flew into Vancouver from Austin to play baritone and tenor sax, Reese Wynans travelled from Tennessee to supply Hammond organ and piano parts while John Wolf and Brian Casserly came from St. Louis to contribute trombone and trumpet respectively. It was an impressive lineup of musicians that Colin says came together naturally. “Over the years you kind of connect with certain people. Greg I knew from Roomful Of Blues. He brought in the guys from St. Louis. I knew Reese from playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan. The more you play and work with other musicians the more you get a feel for who can do what.” Colin’s past touring stints are extensive, including runs with Bonnie Raitt’s band, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Band, and even opening up for The Rolling Stones. Joining the seasoned group of out-of-towners for Little Big Band II were Norm Fisher (bass), Eric Webster (Hammond organ and piano) and Al Webster (drums). Vocals and guitar overdubs were recorded later at Colin’s home studio.

Over the course of selecting the 14 songs for the final track listing, Colin James mines a rich cross section of the period and even offers two cuts self-penned in the spirit of the genre (“Rocket To The Moon” and “Triple Shot”). It should come as no surprise that the first single taken from the album is Jackie Wilson’s “Let’s Shout (Baby Work Out)” since Colin is a self-professed Jackie Wilson fanatic. Wilson scored a Top 5 hit with the song in 1963. “When most people think of Jackie they think of pop or R&B, but there was a time where he did a lot of jump blues stuff. It was a large part of his foundation.”

Among the more familiar artists represented on the album are tracks originally recorded by Ray Charles (“Mary Anne”), Willie Dixon (“You Know My Love”) and Cab Calloway (“C’mon With The C’mon”). It was, in fact, ” C’mon With The C’mon” that presented Colin with one of his biggest challenges on the record. James’insistence on authenticity led him to many musical nuggets not heard for decades. Songs such as “Somethin’s Goin’On In My Room” (originally recorded by Daddy Cleanhead), “I’m Lost Without You” (from a recording by Memphis Slim) and the album’s opening cut, “Jumpin’ From Six To Six” (originally recorded by Jimmy Wilson) are seeing the light of day for the first time in decades.

The name Colin James entered the collective consciousness in 1988 with the release of his self-titled debut on Virgin Records. What most people don’t know is that Colin’s career actually started long before that day. He grew up in a musical family in Regina, Saskatchewan and began playing guitar at 8 years old. By the time he was sixteen he had quit school and left home, playing on street corners in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. By the age of 20 he had hooked up with the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan who took Colin on the road to open shows for him in Canada and the U. S. A self-financed 12-inch single featuring the songs “5 Long Years” and “Why’d You Lie” was hand delivered to radio stations across Canada garnering Colin his first radio play and building a national reputation which led to his first major label record deal.

Since then his records have consistently been best sellers in Canada. His second album, Sudden Stop, included the Billboard hit “Just Came Back.” For his third album, Colin recorded the aforementioned Colin James and The Little Big Band album. In 1995, he made his Warner Music Canada debut with Bad Habits. The record was a return to his hard rocking sound including guests like Mavis Staples, Lenny Kravitz and Waddy Watchel. The album showcased a much more confident and soulful voice than had ever been displayed before. For 1997_s National Steel, Colin pared it down to record an album of Delta-blues classics with his longtime friend Colin Linden. The album turned out to be a critical smash and won James numerous awards including the 1998 Juno Award for Best Blues Recording.

In the five years since James’ almost single-handedly revived the big band sound, groups like Royal Crown Revue, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies have garnered both critical and commercial acclaim, proving that James was no doubt ahead of his time. “I think its recent popularity may be a reaction to some of the early ’90’s nilhism. Music got real introspective for awhile, and this is a way to get out of your skin a little bit.” The singer likes to point to the diversity of his repertoire, finding a common ground in all of his musical explorations. “It’s all blues to me,” he says. He also emphasizes how important it is for the music to be heard live. “The Little Big Band is something you’ve got to see live to appreciate how big something like this can be.”