Often referred to as a jazz singer for the hip-hop generation, New York City-based vocalist José James combines jazz, soul, drum’n’bass, and spoken word into his own unique brand of vocal jazz. While he states his main influences as John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday, his sound on early 12″ singles and in live performances brought to mind such icons of ’70s jazz-soul as Terry Callier, and his music felt more like an update of the fluid crossover approach of Gil Scott-Heron, while also being distinctly his own. – Bluenote  

http://www.bluenote.com/artists/jose-james

Here is a youtube playlist I made of some of my favourite tracks. Several live clips in here as well. Click top left corner to see the tracks.

Love in the time of Madness is his latest release. It is a flavourful fusion of nu soul, funk and a sprinkling of hip hop. 

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22962-love-in-a-time-of-madness

https://youtu.be/38Zt3HgaIk4

The Dreamer is the first studio album by American jazz vocalist José James. It was released on Brownswood Recordings in 2008. John Fordham of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, “James sometimes suggests a 21st-century Leon Thomas (the 1970s singer who became an acid-jazz star), but he also exhibits a highly personal mix of Bobby McFerrin‘s tonal delicacy and the R&B and soul feel of D’Angelo – with the latter association sometimes reinforced by the way the vocal overdubs and harmonies work.” Adam Greenberg of AllMusic said: “He sings contemporary jazz with a strong sense of respect for the classics, but quietly puts hip-hop instrumentation behind his vocals, and multi-tracks himself for accentuation.

Omar Abdulkarim – Trumpet; Ryan Blum – Arranger, Composer, Keyboards; Luke Damrosch – Drums; Alexi David – Arranger, Double Bass, Bass Guitar; Steve Lyman – Drums; Junior Mance – Piano; Nori Ochiai – Piano; Gilles Peterson – Executive Producer

Track listing

https://youtu.be/NzIW7N7mG6Q