JOSÉ JAMES SINGS SINATRA

José James Sings Sinatra The celebrated jazz vocalist explores the legacy of one of the greatest American voices of all time. For internationally renowned jazz singer José James, this project is fate. In 2016, James was called by Universal Pictures to perform Sinatra's version of "I've Got You Under My Skin" for the blockbuster film 50 Shades Darker. James---a devoted student of Sinatra---accepted the role and soon found himself in the hallowed halls of Capitol's Studio B, behind the very microphone Sinatra used to record his most celebrated catalog for Capitol Records. "It was a huge honor and a surprise," remembers James. "There was a moment where engineer Al Schmitt brought out the famous Neumann U47, including the wooden box it lives in. On that box, written in black Sharpie in all caps, was just one word---FRANK. Sinatra was letting everyone know that this was his house and anyone who dared to scale the heights of his mountaintop had better be prepared." James rose to the challenge, performing that song onscreen in the film and recording another Sinatra classic, "They Can't Take That Away From Me," for the official movie soundtrack. Following that release, James has been in high demand, performing at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival for both a Frank Sinatra tribute with the Count Basie Orchestra as well as with the Christian McBride Big Band. He also performed with Laura Mvula alongside the Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth Symphony Orchestras, and has been a featured performer with the Jazz at Lincoln Center, Royal Concertgebouw, and Metropole Orchestras. In September 2026, James will release his 14th studio album The Best Is Yet to Come, a groundbreaking reexamination of one of America's greatest voices from the most exciting male jazz singer of the moment. For James, this project is a reclamation---both live and on record---of Sinatra's brilliance as a jazz singer, a rhythmic improviser from the schools of Billie Holiday and Tommy Dorsey. With big band arrangements by the legendary John Clayton, this is no mere nostalgia trip, but a deeper look into the craft and mastery of the Chairman of the Board.