If I were a musician, Bob James would certainly be credited as one of my earliest musical influences. The Bob James Anthology gives listeners a sampling of BJ's music originally released between 1974 and 1984. If you aren't familiar with Bob James' music prior to Fourplay, these discs defintely give you a nice retrospective into his work. The disc includes three cuts from Bob James 2, one of my favorite albums. It also includes Angela, the theme from Taxi, perhaps his best known tune of all. The liner notes don't identify all of the musicians on the tracks, but if my memory serves me correctly, there are a number of great ones including Eric Gale, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd, Hubert Laws, Gary King, David Sanborn, Earl Klugh, Grover Washington, Jr. and Kirk Whalum. Oh, I know I missed many more great musicians, but these are the ones that come to mind. Listening to these tunes certainly bring back some memories. It's also amazing to listen to these tunes and think how fresh they still sound. Bob James was certainly a pioneer in the contemporary jazz genre, and I'm sure you can hear his influence in the recordings of today's musicians. This is a wonderful compilation that was long overdue.
