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Chandler Center for the Arts staff sent a Q & A to saxophonist Boney James to learn more about him behind the scenes. For ONE NIGHT ONLY, Boney James will be performing music from his 18th studio album Detour at Chandler Center for the Arts on October 27, 2023 at 7:30 PM. Enjoy an evening of the artist’s trademark music that blends blues, soul, roots, classical, pop and hip-hop to create his distinctive jazz and R&B landscapes layered with watercolor harmonies and cinematic rhythms. Get your tickets today before they're all gone!
CCA Staff: Where did the name “Boney James” come from?
Boney James: In 1986 I was touring as a member of Randy Crawford’s band. She was very popular in Scandinavia, and everything cost a fortune over there. I said “I just won’t eat for a couple of days…” The guys in the band said, “You’ll get so skinny, we’ll have to call you Boney James.” It stuck!
Can you tell us about how you started out in music?
I started on clarinet in 3rd grade as part of my elementary school music program. I switched to sax when I was 10 and it pretty immediately became my favorite thing to do. Still is.
We love your song “Coastin’” featuring past CCA performer Lalah Hathaway. Can you tell us about that experience?
I’m a long-time fan of Lalah’s. Luckily on this project I was able to get her the song and she liked it enough to write the lyrics for it. We had a blast recording it here at my home studio and luckily it’s been one of my biggest Urban radio singles!
What can you tell us about Detour?
I called the new record Detour because I felt the songs were taking interesting turns…then I realized we’ve all been on this crazy “detour” for the last few years.
Who or what are some of your inspirations?
I love the feeling of community we all share at the live gig. The crowd, the band and me all on the same wavelength. Never gets old.