Artists:James Van Buren

Thanks to artists like James Van Buren, blues and jazz are alive and well. Since 1956 when James formed the “Blues Kings” to play the type of music that he loved listening to as a child, James has created an unforgettable style and sound.

James has played with such legends as T. Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, Lou Rawls and later participated in group and duet performances with talents such as Irene Reid, Good Rockin’ Brown, Pat Methany and John Harris.

In 1985, James formed his own label and launched his debut album “We Will be Together Again”. His second album, “It’s all Over” earned James national recognition with the album making the Top 20 list on NPR. His third album, “I Ain’t Doin’ Too Bad” took James to higher levels of recognition with the song “Three Handed Woman” being one of James’ top selling songs.

Several albums have followed each as enjoyable and diverse as the last. Fans from around the world know that James’ music always reflects feelings from his heart and sounds from his soul.

As Phil Upchurch put it, “James is as original in his song as Joe Williams or Billie Holiday. The other thing I like about his style is that you can hear him smiling”.

Fans from James’ home state of Colorado, have adopted “James’ Baseball Song” as the anthem for their Colorado Rockies baseball team. Since 1996, this song has been chorused by hundreds of fans and has been released as a popular single.

There is no doubt that we will be enjoying a lot more music from this unique artist. He is a tireless supporter of Jazz in his community, giving generously of his time to support growth of the arts. His warm, open personality contributes to his ability to draw strong crowds, a loyal following and make new friends wherever he goes..