Birth name James Forman Role Musician Also known as Mtume Parents Jimmy Heath | Years active 1961–present Music group Mtume Name James Mtume | |
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Genres R&B, soul, post-disco, funk, quiet storm, smooth soul, hip hop, electro, jazz Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, radio personality, composer, record producer, instrumentalist, musician Instruments Vocals, percussionist, piano, keyboards, sampler, drums, guitar, bass guitar, Similar People Reggie Lucas, Tawatha Agee, Al Foster, Jimmy Heath, Hubert Eaves III | ||
James mtume on sampling and the glorification of mediocrity
James Forman (born March 27, 1946), better known by his stage name James Mtume, is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B musician, songwriter and radio personality. He came to prominence working with Miles Davis between 1971 and 1975. Mtume's group, also called Mtume, is perhaps best known for the 1983 R&B hit song "Juicy Fruit", which has been much sampled. Mtume the band also had a top-five R&B hit with the single "You, Me, and He". He and Mtume band member, fellow musician Reggie Lucas both won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for writing and producing fellow R&B artist Stephanie Mills' top-ten hit "Never Knew Love Like This Before", for which she also won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Contents
- James mtume on sampling and the glorification of mediocrity
- On the spot with james mtume
- Career
- Discography
- Composer
- References
On the spot with james mtume
Career
Mtume, born and raised in South Philadelphia, is the son of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Heath, and the father of Damu Mtume and Fa Mtume, both music producers. He was raised however by his stepfather, a Philadelphia local jazz pianist James "Hen Gates" Forman. Mtume grew up in a musical environment with famous jazz musicians frequenting his parents' house. He learned to play piano and percussion; however, from his teenage years he was pursuing a sportsman career as a swimmer, having achieved the title of the first black Middle Atlantic AAU champion in the backstroke, and in 1966 he entered Pasadena City College on a swimming scholarship.
After his return from the West Coast he moved to New York to pursue musician's vocation and had his first gigs as a sideman for McCoy Tyner (Asante album), Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, whose group he wound up joining and playing in for the next few years. He has also worked as a session musician with Players Association, and has done on-air radio personality work at New York City's KISS 98.7 FM. His debut on a professional music scene was in a capacity of a composer when he contributed four out of five compositions on his uncle Albert "Tootie Kuumba" Heath's "Kawaida" jazz-album. As a songwriter, Mtume has written hits for various artists such as Phyllis Hyman, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Stephanie Mills, R. Kelly, Mary J. Blige, Teddy Pendergrass, Inner City, as well as being lead songwriter for his own band Mtume.
Discography
As leader
As sideman With McCoy Tyner
With Gato Barbieri
With Miles Davis
With Art Farmer
With Jimmy Heath
With Eddie Henderson
with Harold Land
With Azar Lawrence
With The Piano Choir
With Buddy Terry
Composer
"The Closer I Get to You" written with Reggie Lucas. Performed by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway on Blue Lights in the Basement. Atlantic Records, 1977.