James K.

Jim was born on Sept 30, 1958, in Bethlehem, PA. He started playing piano by ear at 10 then studied piano through high school, playing in local rock bands from the age of 13 on. At 20, he arrived at Berklee College of Music, where his classmates and jam session partners included Wallace Roney, Greg Osby, Donald Harrison, Tim “Bone” Williams, Jeff Watts, Gene Jackson, Frank Lacy, Jean Toussaint, Branford Marsalis, and many other future luminaries, all of whom he considers his Teachers and Mentors. He also Studied Privately with the great Jazz Pianist Jaki Byard. After 2 years at Berklee, he stayed in Boston for another year and a half, gigging around town at various clubs, after which he moved to New Jersey and resumed his education at Rutgers University, on the recommendation of his friend Frank Lacy. After graduating, he stayed at Rutgers, working as a Musician for the Dance Department and working locally until moving to NYC in 2000. In NY, he started working as a freelance Session Musician in various genres and functions, joining The Steve Kimock Band from 2. After leaving Kimock, he resumed his session work while playing with Afrobeat sensation Kaleta (Fela Kuti, Majek Fashek, King Sunny Ade), appearing on the album “Country of Guns”. He also worked with master drummer, producer, and composer Rodney Holmes (Santana, Zawinul Syndicate, Wayne Shorter) from 2. In addition, he has worked as a musician for Alvin Ailey and Mark Morris. “Stone Church” is his first album as co-leader.