Pianist

James Francies Trio

Cadillac Square

“A pianist with liquid dynamism in his touch” (NY Times), the remarkable Houston-born musician and composer is best known to SFJAZZ audiences through his performances with Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye, José James, and Chris Potter’s Circuits Trio. He makes his SFJAZZ debut as a bandleader with these nights, bringing music from his 2023 Blue Note release Purest Form.

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SFJAZZ Center

KDTU has electrified audiences around the world from the fields of Naeba in Japan at the infamous Fuji Rock Festival to the hallowed stage of Madison Square Garden where they previously joined the Dave Matthews Band and The Godfather of Soul, James Brown.  From performing as Sexual Chocolate (Karl was in the original band in the movie Coming To America and its sequel) at the Outside Lands Music festival in San Francisco, to being the first late night act at the inaugural Bonnaroo festival, KDTU have been a dominating force in music for the past 25 years.

Karl Denson Project with Keyon Harrold, James Francies, Burniss Earl Travis & Blaque Dynamite

Blue Note Jazz Club

Plenty of young musicians show promise, but very few enjoy the sort of meteoric rise that pianist, keyboardist and composer James Francies is currently experiencing. At only 24, he’s played with jazz headliners like Pat Metheny, Chris Potter, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Stefon Harris, Eric Harland, and Terrace Martin, and racked up equally impressive credits in hip-hop and R&B: from shows with Ms. Lauryn Hill, José James, Common, and NAS, to studio time for Chance the Rapper’s Grammy-winning hit “No Problem”, Mark Ronson , Childish Gambino, YEBBA, Drake, and Kodak Black, to appearances with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside his mentor and friend Questlove.

James Francies

James Francies has a talent that comes along only once in a generation. A graduate of the renowned Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and an alumnus of SJW, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, James had joined the Pat Metheny Side-Eye trio, toured with Chris Potter, performed with R&B superstars such as Lauryn Hill and José James, appeared with The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside his mentor and friend, Questlove — and released his Blue Note debut, Flight.

George Cables one of the true greats of jazz piano. He has the touch and swing of Oscar Peterson, the harmonic inventiveness of Herbie Hancock, the strength of McCoy Tyner, and yet his sound is unmistakably his own. George spent his formative years playing with saxophone giants Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, and Joe Henderson, and his collaborations with alto star Art Pepper, vibes virtuoso Bobby Hutcherson, and trumpet masters Woody Shaw and Freddie Hubbard yielded recordings that are on every critic’s must-have list. George is going to deliver a performance you won’t want to miss.

James Francies Trio and George Cables Trio with Larry Grenadier, Eric Harland And Guests

Stanford University

A DownBeat Rising Star and hometown hero who practically grew up in SJW’s Jazz Camp, New York-based Dayna Stephens has a sound of singular warmth and beauty that has him recognized and requested by artists such as Eric Harland, Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Wayne Shorter, and many others. In this intimate show, he shares some of his most recent compositions, performed by this extraordinary quartet.

The Dayna Stephens Quartet, Featuring James Francies

NEA Jazz Master and 20-time Grammy®-winning guitar icon Pat Metheny presents his latest band project: Side-Eye, featuring pianist and keyboardist James Francies and drummer Joe Dyson.

Pianist

James Francies

Events

Past events

Sep 1, 2025

James Francies Trio · Detroit Jazz Festival

1 - 2 Feb, 2024

James Francies Trio · San Francisco Jazz

About

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