For saxophonist and composer Boney James, these words perfectly describe the music he has crafted for his new Concord Records album, Slow Burn. 

“When I mentioned that phrase to people as a possible title, they said, ‘That also refers to your whole career in a way.’ James says with a laugh. “This is my 19th record and I feel like I’m just hitting my stride.”

Slow Burn is a new high point in a remarkable career that now spans more than three decades and includes a long list of accolades; four GRAMMY nominations, three NAACP Image Award nominations, a Soul Train Award for Best Jazz Album and four RIAA Gold Record certifications. In 2009, Billboard named James one of the Top 3 Contemporary Jazz Artists of the decade. In 2024 Boney became the first ever artist to score 20 number one singles on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart.

Slow Burn follows two of the most successful albums of James’ career, 2020’s Solid and 2022’s Detour which debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart. 

James is, of course, thrilled that his music continues to reach new audiences more than thirty years after he released his debut album, Trust, in 1992. “It’s always been my goal to be one of those guys that would just keep doing it at a high level,” he says, “and to have that connection with the audience.”

That’s what it’s always been about for Boney James. Growing up in New Rochelle, New York, James played clarinet in his school band, but two years later, he says, “The teacher needed a sax player. As soon as I switched, playing it became my favorite thing to do.”

By the time he entered his teens, James was already gigging with bands, and he turned pro at 19. After years of paying his dues with artists like The Isley Brothers, Teena Marie and many more, Boney cut his first album on an independent label, which led immediately to a major label deal and a string of increasingly successful recordings and nonstop touring. 

Now, James says, “I wake up each day and try to play a little better. To quote the cellist Pablo Casals ‘I think I’m making progress.’  I am really proud of my playing on this new record. And I absolutely love the songs and the sound I achieved.”

Some might say it has a Slow Burn: a deliberate intensity.