James Francies released their second album Blue Note Purest Form, an expansive opus where the pianist, producer and composer access intimate chambers of his art through 14 tracks that interpret love, sorrow, fragility and courage. You can watch Francies discuss Purest Form in the latest episode of “First Look” with Blue Note President Don Was below.
The album’s core trio includes longtime Francies collaborators Burniss Travis on bass and Jeremy Dutton on drums, three Houston-raised artists who have been playing together and growing side by side for over a decade. Other musicians in attendance included alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and vibraphonist Joel Ross, as well as guitarist Mike Moreno and vocalists Elliott Skinner, Peyton and Bilal.
Since her debut album Flight wowed listeners in 2018, Francies has broadened her personal explorations of sonic flexion and orchestral approaches to music. Collaborations across stylistic fields – including those with Childish Gambino, Pat Metheny, Mark Ronson, The Roots, YEBBA, Chris Potter, Common, Eric Harland, Marcus Miller, DJ Dahi and Ms. Lauryn Hill – have enhanced its development and refined his sound.
By publishing Purest Form, Francies’ expression flourishes beyond false boundaries of genre and style. It nourishes a heavenly fascination for melody and texture. “Music, in its purest form, is an honest space in which we try to get to where there are no preconceptions about what we think something should sound like,” he says. . “When you truly harness who you are inside, musically and as a person, that energy supersedes everything else.”
For the artist himself, Purest Form is more than a recording. It is an essence. “I hope what I was trying to do – an immersive, multidimensional experience – will really reach people. I hope that for 56 minutes they will enter this world of sounds and textures. This is the idea. And [laughs] Hope this sounds good on all speakers.
Buy or distribute the purest form
–
