Twenty-three-year-old jazz pianist James Francies has his musical fingerprints all over the place. From leading his own group at 2019'sWinter Jazzfest
Twenty-three-year-old jazz pianist James Francies has his musical fingerprints all over the place. From leading his own group at 2019’sWinter Jazzfest in New York City to playing shows in Tokyo with guitar legend Pat Metheny, the current pace of Francies’s life is constantly in motion.
“It just feels like you’re on a plane,” Francies says. “Four thousand feet, traveling six hundred miles an hour.”
Last fall, Blue Note Records released Flight, Francies’s debut album.
Francies’s reputation as a sideman is well-earned. The past four years, Francies has been a substitute for keyboardist James Poyser of The Roots, the house band of the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. The group faces the unique challenge of backing new and legendary popular recording artists every night.
“Me and my mom would watch the show on Fridays,” Francies says, remembering his teenage years. “And she was like, ‘You know, I feel like you’re going to be like him one day.”
Mom knew best.
His first piano lesson was a lifetime ago. He was 4 and could barely reach the keys.
“My piano teacher gave me this red book,” Francies says. “I remember this [one] piece vividly, because it was only three notes. The teacher showed me something just so I could go home and say I could play something.”
Growing up, Francies’s parents’ music tastes influenced his own. At 6, young Francies was obsessed with a VHS tape celebrating Michael Jackson’s 30-year anniversary.
“I used to listen to Michael Jackson before I listened to jazz, you know,” Francies says.
