Boney James
Though sax symbol Boney James has been releasing albums for a quarter century now, the four-time Grammy winner’s most recent, Futuresoul, was pretty much his biggest, debuting at number 41 on Billboard’s Current Albums pop chart (his highest arrival to date) and sitting atop the Contemporary Jazz chart for 11 weeks. His sound is a mildly adventurous take on the smooth jazz popularized by Kenny G, Dave Koz, and their crowd-pleasing contemporaries, although coming from a far more musically informed and even (for brief passages, anyway) avant garde approach. Kudos to Jimmy Fallon for bringing the rising star onto the Tonight Show, where many enjoyed their first look and listen as James sat in with (and nearly stole the show from) house band the Roots. General admission concert seating begins one hour before showtime.