Sneak Peak Album Review of Blackmagic by Jose James

Jose James is a singer that seems to be born in the wrong era. This music is a lot like a mix between the old styles of Blues and Jazz that put black music on the map. What is unique about the music that Jose makes is that many of the tracks that Jose makes remind me of the entertainers that had become so popular during that boom of music. What I love most about his music is that many of his lyrics are essentially poems placed onto beats. This is how Jose composes songs in my opinion because most of his songs are poems that have been set to horns. Often times you will hear a piano or another live performer on the track. However, what makes Jose special is that he essentially uses spoken word to create unique and innovative sounding songs. His last CD titled The Dreamer was one of my favorite Soul music releases of 2008 and so I decided to pre order his album titled Blackmagic via Amazon. I thought I would listen to the CD via Youtube before it arrives in stores to see what I would be getting.

The CD includes 14 songs in total and the length of the CD is about 66 minutes from start to finish. The only artist featured on this CD is Jordana de Lovely and this is great because it leaves more time for Jose. The length is what I would expect based on past material from Jose so I am happy with it. I would say that this CD is not as good as his previous album but I think any fan would enjoy this CD. The best tracks on the CD are Promise In Love, Made For Love, Save Your Love For Me, and Detroit Loveletter. What I love about this music is that Jose stays true to his love for Soul music and there are no RNB tracks included here. Many artists morph their style over time and Jose has not done that with this record. If you like such artists as Jazzanova, Esperanza Spalding, Roy Hargrove, and Kurt Elling then you will love this CD. The CD is basically Jose with some horns and a piano in a room. It is simple and doesn't include any machines or special effects. This CD is pure Soul and I rate it 3/5 because I enjoyed the project.