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Boney James
with Special Guest Kenny Lattimore
Saturday, September 18th

Just six weeks after being hit by a drunk driver in a fiery freeway crash, saxophonist-songwriter BONEY JAMES will return to the concert stage for a string of U.S. dates starting July 3 in Northern California. BONEY--one of today’s most respected and best-selling instrumental artists and performers—was driving home from a show in Los Angeles May 15 when he was stuck in freeway traffic and his car was rear-ended at 70 MPH, causing a jaw fracture, broken teeth and 14 stitches in his chin.

“I’m really excited to get back to playing shows,” says the three million-selling and three-time Grammy nominee, whose “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (introducing Quinn)”—from his current album SEND ONE YOUR LOVE (Concord)--received a “Best Traditional Vocal R&B” Grammy nomination last year. “I broke my 2 front teeth in the accident and couldn’t blow for 6 weeks. I still have a brace on them and might still lose the teeth, but I’m able to play and need to get back onstage! I do feel very lucky to be alive, and being able to play my horn again is the best thing in the world.” After the accident, Boney recuperated at home in Los Angeles (with the help of his wife, actress Lily Mariye, who was on “ER” for 15 years) .

Boney has released 12 albums since his 1992 debut but has made a name for himself playing in front of fans. A Boston Globe live review said, “…his music is muscular and gritty, whereas most smooth jazz has all the texture and complexity of a cue ball.... James swaggered across the stage like a blacktop hero draining treys on an overmatched opponent. He even weaved his way through the audience, never missing a beat and all but daring the crowd not to have a good time."

He embodies the elements of traditional R&B with a decidedly contemporary flavor and feel. He has established himself as a soulful song stylist of the first order receiving the NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist, and nominations for the Grammy, Soul Train and Stellar Awards. Whether putting a distinctive stamp on classic songs recorded by such musical icons as Donny Hathaway (“I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”) and George Harrison (“While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), or creating his own legacy of hits such as “Never Too Busy,” and the wedding ballad “For You”, Kenny’s style combines passion, sensuality, intensity and subtlety, making him one of today’s premier male vocalists.

His latest solo project on Verve Records “Timeless” is a collection of new interpretations of songs by musical icons like The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Donny Hathaway, Jeff Buckley, and more!

Kenny Lattimore – whose vocals have graced albums by such diverse musical colleagues as Musiq Soulchild, Rachelle Ferrell, Nancy Wilson and Brian Culbertson – continues to demonstrate his creative growth as a performer, singer, songwriter and producer, earmarking him as a leader in the new breed of artists who are keeping the tradition of classic R&B, Soul music and Gospel very much alive in the 21st century.

Now as a renowned international artist, Kenny takes great pleasure fulfilling his heart’s desire to serve and give back to the displaced and disadvantaged as the 2009 Spokesperson for the California based non-profit, The ASHÉ Foundation. ASHÉ is committed to the work of providing clothing and basic necessities to poverty stricken communities. ASHÉ also extends aid to millions of children orphaned by the effects of HIV/AIDS in African nations.

Kenny states: “I have been looking for a long time for a cause that I could be a part of from the ground up. The ASHÉ Foundation is it. The work they are doing with the orphaned children of Africa and displaced in America is amazing and life changing.”

Kenny embarked on his first community event with the foundation in June 2009 where he along with 100 local volunteers, celebrities and politicians washed and placed clean socks and shoes on the feet of over 500 men, women and children living in the “Skid Row” district of Los Angeles. In August 2009, Kenny along with board members for the foundation traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa where Kenny performed and distributed thousands of pairs of shoes to orphaned children in the city of Limpopo, Soweto and Johannesburg.

Kenny continues to remain true to his core audience of longstanding fans of R&B, Soul and Gospel music while he serves faithfully as the Spokesperson for “The ASHÉ Foundation” and helps “change the world two feet at a time.”

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