James has been a formidable member of the Bay Area jazz community for nearly thirty years. Having grown up in Napa, he began performing at wineries, restaurants and weddings with a variety of groups at the age of 15. His high school hosted the biggest marching band review in California, was highly competitive and won several awards. James received his bachelor’s degree in music from Sonoma State University in 2006 and immediately moved to San Francisco shortly thereafter. He performed with the Tony Award winning musical theater company, San Francisco Mime Troupe, from 2009 to 2012.

With experience playing classical piano, bebop, latin jazz, second line brass band music, punk rock, ska, Afrobeat, and contemporary pop, he’s capable of teaching an array of styles. A few places he’s performed are Wembley Hall, The Bulls Head jazz club in London, Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, Miami University in Ohio, and Vibrato Grill Jazz, Herb Albert’s club in Los Angeles. With over two decades of teaching experience, he’s very versatile in working with students of any age. Whether the goal is studying the classics, understanding music theory, improvising, or composing, James’ primary goal is to make learning music fun.