BONEY JAMES AND AMERICAN IDOL'S SYESHA MERCADO RELEASE EXCLUSIVE INTERNET ONLY SINGLE. THE ONLY PLACE YOU ARE "GONNA GET IT"  IS ON iTUNES!
Urban Jazz Icon and American Idol's Last Woman Standing Release iTunes Exclusive on May 12, 2008

Los Angeles, CA- On May 12th two-time Grammy Award nominee Boney James and current American Idol Top 3 finalist Syesha Mercado join forces to release the soulful uptempo groover "Gonna Get It" exclusively on iTunes.

Written by James and critically acclaimed R&B singer-songwriter Rahsaan Patterson, "Gonna Get It" pairs the multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer James with the last woman standing on American Idol - seductive songstress Syesha Mercado. Says James: "The first time I saw Syesha perform, I was incredibly impressed. 'Gonna Get It' seemed like a perfect fit for her. I'm really proud of how well she's doing on American Idol."

Celebrated by Vibe Magazine for his "serious Grover Washington Jr.-style sexy R&B chops," James' Concord Records album Shine debuted at the #1 spot on the Contemporary Jazz chart, #6 on the R&B Chart and #44 on the Pop Chart. Special guests on Shine include jazz-guitar icon George Benson, R&B vocalists Dwele and Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire), keyboard wizard George Duke, hip-hop/soul diva Faith Evans, alternative-pop singer Esthero and Sounds of Blackness powerhouse Ann Nesby.

BONEY JAMES DELIVERS CHRISTMAS PRESENT
New Holiday CD from Two-Time Grammy Nominated Sax Star Features Duets with Anthony Hamilton, Angie Stone, Chante Moore and More

Urban Jazz sax icon Boney James follows his Top 10 R&B and #1 Contemporary Jazz album Shine with a stirring new collection of holiday classics. The album finds James teaming up with fellow Grammy nominees Anthony Hamilton (on the holiday standard "Silent Night") and Angie Stone (on an update of the Charles Brown chestnut "Merry Christmas, Baby").

Also featured on the album are soul songstress Chanté Moore on the Eartha Kitt hit "Santa Baby" and former James collaborator, contemporary jazz trumpet sensation, Rick Braun on "The First Noel." James and Braun previously teamed up in 2000 for the album Shake It Up that topped the Contemporary Jazz charts for twelve consecutive weeks.

Christmas Present highlights James' always soulful playing, as well as his continued evolution as a multi-faceted Producer and Arranger, tackling gritty funk to neo-soul grooves, straight-up pop to straight-ahead jazz, and gospel to art rock. Says James, "I'm really proud of the way everything came out. Each track evolved as a unique soundscape. Some songs wanted to be more funky, some more traditional, and some took a path that I couldn¹t have envisioned. Ultimately, even with some of the more profound deviations from the traditional versions, the songs retain their identity. I really think it is a testament to why these songs are classics, and why their spirit shines through every year."

The album¹s emotional centerpiece, "Silent Night," finds James and Anthony Hamilton testifying to the songs roots with a stirring gospel reading set against only James' tenor saxophone, a Hammond B3 organ, and handclaps. If you listen closely enough, you can almost hear the church pews creak.

Other album highlights include James¹ gliding soprano saxophone on Vince Guaraldi's "Skating" (first made famous in "A Charlie Brown Christmas") and his hauntingly spare arrangement of Joni Mitchell's "River" that echoes the melancholy longing of her original. "I was always curious how some of my favorite holiday songs like ŒSkating¹ and ŒRiver¹ would sound on the sax," says James. "So for me, it was all about creating unique moods and framing these great melodies so that they would hopefully amplify what I feel when I hear the originals."

Perhaps the most surprising song on the album is James' "Roxy Music meets Peter Gabriel" take on "Auld Lang Syne": "This was one of those great moments where, although I was completely immersed in the song¹s creation (playing both sax and keyboards, creating the arrangement and producing the track) when I was finished, even

I was surprised by the final outcome. This arrangement for me really captured the sadness and the hope that we can all feel as one year ends and another begins."

Christmas Present is James' second holiday recording. His first, Boney¹s Funky Christmas, was released in 1996 and remains a consistent holiday best seller to this day. The complete track listing for Christmas Present is as follows:

1. Skating (Vince Guaraldi cover)
2. Santa Baby (featuring Chanté Moore)
3. O Tannenbaum
4. River (Joni Mitchell cover)
5. The First Noel (featuring Rick Braun)
6. Merry Christmas Baby (featuring Angie Stone)
7. My Grown Up Christmas List (David Foster cover)
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. Silent Night (featuring Anthony Hamilton)
10. Auld Lang Syne

Boney James was raised in New Rochelle, NY, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. James has sold millions of albums, headlined sold-out tours, been awarded four consecutive Gold Album certifications and a Soul Train Award, and received two Grammy Award and one NAACP Image Award nominations. James is married to actress and filmmaker Lily Mariye who portrays nurse Lily Jarvik on the NBC drama ER.

IN THE STUDIO

Boney was recently in the studio with Tavis Smiley - you can hear it this weekend (June 22-24)! Check the list below (alphabetized by state) for stations and times. All times are local except where noted.

Montgomery, AL / WVAS-FM 90.7, Friday @ 6:00PM
Little Rock, AR / KUAR-FM 89.1, Saturday @ 3:00 PM & Sunday @ 3:00 PM
Los Angeles, CA / KPCC-FM 89.3, Friday @ 10:00 PM
Redlands, CA / KUOR-FM 89.1, Friday @ 10:00 PM
San Diego, CA / KURS-AM 1040, Friday @ 4:00 PM
San Francisco, CA / KALW-FM 91.7, Friday @ 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM
Panama City, FL / WFSW-FM 89.1, Friday @ 8:00 PM
Tallahassee, FL / WFSU-FM 88.9, Friday @ 8:00 PM
Tampa, FL / WUSF-FM2 89.7, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Atlanta, GA / WCLK-FM 91.9, Saturday @ 8:00 AM
Atlanta, GA / WABE-FM2 90.1, Sunday @ 6:00 PM
Chicago, IL / WBEZ 91.5, Sunday @ 5:00 PM
Morris, IL / WBEQ-FM 90.7, Sunday @ 5:00 PM
Peoria, IL / WCBU-FM2 89.9, Sunday @ 6:00PM
Urbana, IL / WILL-AM 580, Sunday @ 2:00 PM
Chesterton, IN / WBEW-FM 89.5, Sunday @ 5:00 PM
Franklin, IN / WFCI-FM 89.5, Friday @ 10:00 AM
Indianapolis, IN / WFYI-FM 90.1, Friday @ 2:00 PM
Louisville, KY / WFPL-FM 89.3, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
New Orleans, LA / WWNO-FM2 89.9, Friday @ 7:00 PM
Amherst, MA / WFCR-FM2, Saturday @ 3:00 PM
Boston, MA / WBUR-FM 90.9, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Harwich, MA / WCCT-FM 90.3, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Sandwich, MA / WSDH-FM 91.5, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Springfield, MA / WNNZ-AM 640AM, Sunday @ 1:00 PM
West Yarmouth, MA / WBUR-AM 1240, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Baltimore, MD / WEAA-FM 88.9, Sunday @ 9:00PM
Baltimore, MD / WYPR-FM 88.1, Sunday @ 6:00 PM
Princess Anne, MD / WESM-FM 91.3, Sunday @ 12:00 PM
Detroit, MI / WDET-FM 101.9, Sunday @ 3:00 PM
Port Huron, MI / WSGR-FM 91.3, Sunday @ 10:00 AM
Holly Springs, MS / WURC-FM 88.1, Sunday @ 8:00PM
Durham, NC / WNCU-FM 90.7, Sunday @ 7:00 PM
Elizabeth City, NC / WRVS-FM 89.9, Saturday @ 1:00 PM
Greensboro, NC / WNAA-FM 90.1, Friday @ 6:00 PM & Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Winston-Salem, NC / WFDD-FM88.5, Friday @ 7:00 PM
Winston-Salem, NC / WSNC-FM 90.5, Saturday @ 10:00 AM
Las Vegas, NV / KCEP-FM 88.1, Saturday @ 9:00 AM
Albany, NY / WAMC-AM 1400, Saturday @ 2:00 PM
Brookville, NY / WCWP-FM 88.1, Saturday @ 6:00 AM
Geneva, NY / WEOS-FM 89.7, Friday @ 7:00 PM
New York, NY / WNYC-AM 820, Friday @ 9:00 PM, Saturday @ 2:00 PM & Sunday @ 2:00 PM
Rochester, NY / WXXI-AM 1370, Friday @ 11:00 PM
Southampton, NY / WLIU-FM 88.3, Saturday @ 6:00 AM
Athens, OH / WOUB-AM 1340, Sunday @ 4:00 PM
Cleveland, OH / WCPN-FM 90.3, Saturday @ 10:00 PM
Columbus, OH / WCBE-FM 90.5, Friday @ 7:00 PM
Kent/Akron, OH / WKSU-FM2, Sunday @ 2:00 PM
Oxford, OH / WMUB-FM 88.5, Sunday @ 1:00PM
Wilberforce, OH / WCSU-FM 88.9, Friday @ 11:00 AM
Philadelphia, PA / WHAT-AM 1340, Friday @ 5:00 PM
Providence, RI / WRNI-AM 1290, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Westerly, RI / WXNI-AM 1230, Saturday @ 8:00 PM
Aiken, SC / WLJK-FM 89.1, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Beaufort, SC / WJWJ-FM 89.9, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Charleston, SC / WSCI-FM 89.3, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Columbia, SC / WLTR-FM 91.3, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Conway, SC / WHMC-FM 90.1, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Greenville, SC / WEPR-FM 90.1, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Sumter, SC / WRJA-FM 88.1, Sunday @ 9:00 PM
Nashville, TN / WFSK-FM 88.1, Tuesday & Thursday @ 5:00 PM
Austin, TX / KUT-FM2 90.5, Friday @ 11:00 PM
Dallas, TX / KNON-FM 89.3, Friday @ 7:00 AM
Houston, TX / KTSU-FM 90.9, Saturday @ 10:00 AM
Waco, TX / KWBU-FM 103.3, Saturday @ 2:00 PM
Waco, TX / KWBU-FM 103.3, Sunday @ 8:00 PM
Seattle, WA / KUOW-FM 94.9, Sunday @ 7:00 PM
XM Satellite / Channel 133, Saturday, 9:00 AM & Sunday @ 5:00 PM (EDT)

BONEY JAMES SHINE DEBUTS WITH CAREER-TOPPING SALES
Chart-topping Saxophone Virtuoso's New Album Sells 19,200 Copies, Kicks Off Shine Tour

October 4th, 2006 - Urban Jazz icon Boney James released his eagerly awaited new album Shine on September 26th, and quickly racked up the biggest first week of sales in his acclaimed career. The star-studded release sold nearly 20,000 copies in its first week of release, bowing at the #1 spot on the Contemporary Jazz chart, #2 on the Jazz Chart, #6 on the R&B Chart and #44 on the Pop Chart. Fans of the two time Grammy-nominated instrumentalist will get the chance to experience his knockout live performances when he kicks off the Shine tour starting October 11th in Glenside, PA, and continuing through November 10th in Memphis, TN.

The success of Shine is undoubtedly driven by his diverse and loyal fans, whose anticipation for his distinct sound and extraordinary talent has "The Total Experience" featuring George Duke and "Shine" featuring Esthero, heating up the nation's airwaves in Urban AC and Smooth Jazz radio.

"The Total Experience" with George Duke has been one of the hottest singles in Smooth Jazz, hailed as "enlightening" by ContemporaryJazz.com. A bulleted Top 3 record on the charts currently, "The Total Experience" was the most added track in its format during its debut, and has continued climbing the charts for seven weeks. The title track "Shine" featuring vocals by Esthero, has broken out on Urban AC stations around the country, rising up the charts to the Top 30 currently.

Celebrated by Vibe Magazine for his "serious Grover Washington Jr.-style sexy R&B chops" Shine marks the 10th album for the acclaimed instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, and his first release with Concord Records. It is the second album for Boney as producer and features his talent on tenor, soprano and alto saxes, keyboards and flute. He wrote or co-wrote nine of Shine's 12 tracks, whose special guests include hip-hop/soul diva Faith Evans, jazz-guitar icon George Benson, R&B vocalists Dwele and Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire), keyboard wizard George Duke, alternative-pop singer Esthero and Sounds of Blackness powerhouse Ann Nesby.

For more than a decade, Boney delivered a string of hugely successful albums for Warner that blended jazz and R&B - virtually spawning the sub-genre known as Urban Jazz. He earned four gold certifications, two Grammy nods, a Soul Train Award, numerous Smooth Jazz Awards and an NAACP Image Award nomination.

With Shine's exploding success, Boney James is set to take audiences to entirely new places with his ecstatic, evocative playing and velvety grooves. The versatile artist eagerly returned to the stage, and kicked off his live show with a headline performance at L.A.'s WaveFest on September 29th: "The communal experience of playing live - that's why I became a musician in the first place," he declares. "It's exciting and liberating. It never gets old for me." More dates are scheduled through 2007.

WELCOME TO THE NEW SITE
We've redesigned the site to celebrate the release of "Shine"...have a look around and be sure to check out the new message board.

ORDER 'SHINE'!
You can now order Boney's newest album "Shine" through Amazon.com.
  CLICK HERE TO VISIT AMAZON

MYSPACE
Be sure to visit Boney's new Myspace site which includes clips from his newest album "Shine".
 CLICK HERE TO VISIT BONEY'S MYSPACE PAGE

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW FROM 94.7 THE WAVE

The WAVE recently met up with Boney for an exclusive video chat. Boney talks about how he first got interested in jazz, how he got his nickname and much more.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW (windows media file)

BONEY'S DESERT ISLAND PICKS

Ever wonder what 10 CD's Boney would pick if he was ever stranded on a desert island?
CLICK HERE to find out.

Pictured left to right are: Glen Barros, President and CEO Concord Music Group; Boney James; Gene Rumsey, General Manger, Concord Music Group; John Burk, Executive VP, Concord Music Group

BONEY JAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE RECORDING AGREEMENT WITH CONCORD RECORDS
Concord Records is thrilled to announce that celebrated saxophonist Boney James has joined the family.

James has distinguished himself over a long and varied career that spawned 4 consecutive gold albums and numerous awards. His one of a kind lyricism and seductive phrasing has garnered critical acclaim and inspired an incredibly loyal and passionate fan base all over the world. Along the way, he has played with and accompanied some of music’s most popular and important musicians including Stevie Wonder, Morris Day, the Isley Brothers, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau and George Duke, just to name a few.

“I’m really thrilled to be starting fresh with such a forward thinking company”, states James, “and I’m really excited about the new music and the prospect of finding new ways to expand my audience.”

Gene Rumsey, general manager of Concord Music Group commented, “Boney James’ unique vision and masterful musicianship aligns perfectly with the Concord family. We are proud to continue building relationships with such high quality artists and look forward to a long and prosperous partnership.”

Look for Boney James’ Concord Records debut in stores this summer.

TOP