Reflected Glory

Jose James is one of the nicest guys I have ever met, and is certainly the most talented vocalist I have ever known personally, and probably the most talented I've ever seen in a live setting.

I remember the first time I ever heard him sing. He was in a practice room at school with a pianist and a trumpet player. He was scatting, either over a blues or a rhythm changes, and I had never heard anything quite like it before. I stood by the elevator listening for a while, wishing I knew who he was, deciding right then and there that when I found out his name, it was one I should remember.

Over two years later, it's now a name I tell everyone else they should remember, too.

His first album, "The Dreamer", just came out on Brownswood, a small British label. It is already getting fantastic press, both overseas and here, and is -- at last check -- on the top 10 Jazz albums in iTunes for THREE countries. Jose is rightfully optimistic that it will be picked up for distribution in the US by a major label.

This is the first album commercially released made up nearly entirely of friends and people I know well, which makes it kind of a special occasion for me, too. (I just think it's really cool!) And honestly, I'm quite jealous.

But I'm not jealous of Jose; I'm jealous of those around him. That's right, Alexi, I'm jealous of you.

Even my wildest dreams of musical fame and fortune haven't been of fame and fortune, but rather notoriety and comfort. I've never wanted to be that big front man whose face everyone knows (perhaps self conscious about my nose?) or whose name strikes awe into restaurant hosts and students alike; rather, I've wanted to be known in a select circle as a staple behind the big name, as the ever-loved and never-bombarded side-man.

I want my name in 6 point font in liner notes. I want one sentence mention in a 600-word review. I want to be thanked at the end of the night -- not even publicly -- for being a musical wingman, getting riches and women galore for the man I sit behind.

Is it that I don't want to put in the work it takes to put together a project worthy of carrying my name? No; I'm a composer, and even without doing enough for a band of my own, it's a lot of work from which I do not shy away. Is it a lack of self-confidence? Perhaps, but I don't think so.

I just have never cared for celebrity, and I'd just rather be like everyone else with only one distinct difference; I'm living my dream.

Now all I have to do is find someone to pay me for it.