James Francies won a Grammy in February for less than an hour of work. Last year, the 21-year-old Jazz senior read a text from an old friend that, seemingly out of nowhere, invited him to come into the studio the next day and record with Chance the Rapper on “No Problem.”
“I was in New York at the time. It was during the summer. I was laying on my ass,” said Francies, a 21-year-old senior at the New School for Jazz. He had just returned to New York from Latvia after touring with New School alumni Camila Meza in Europe, and was relaxing, laying low.
The next day he walked into a building in SoHo, rode an elevator up, and entered the studio’s control room. An engineer hovered over a desk that was covered in buttons and knobs. A wide, clear window looked out into a small room with a piano set up in the middle. Microphones hung from the room’s ceiling; gospel singers were scheduled to record their portion of the song after Francies was done.
He played his different piano tracks and then left the studio, an experience he describes as “super super chill.” “I’ve gone to studio sessions where there’s like 30 people packed into a room that’s meant for 15 people,” Francies said. “But yeah, it was just me and the two producers, and a studio engineer.”
Francies’ key work became part of Chance’s track “No Problem” which went on to win “Best Rap Performance” at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Francies is now the owner of a Grammy certificate that proves he co-wrote the song. It’s a win that doesn’t quite feel like a win for him though. “It’s great on paper but I feel like I didn’t really earn it because I did my part in under an hour,” Francies said, laughing.
Earning a Grammy certificate adds one more victory to his growing mound of successes: as a teenager he won the American Federation of Musicians President’s Youth Award, he’s toured internationally with prolific jazz drummers Chris Dave and Jeff “Tain” Watts, he’s worked on film scores with Questlove and occasionally, he plays with The Roots on national television for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Playing with The Roots and collaborating with Questlove, Francies said, is better than winning any award.
Francies’ zeal for jazz, and his subsequent journey to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, began at his hometown of Houston, Texas, where he sung choir and played piano at church. He discovered he had perfect pitch during one of his music lessons, when a teacher noticed that he could memorize any piece of music just by hearing it. He attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the same magnet school that taught Beyonce, Chris Daves and Robert Glasper.
Glasper, who is also an alumni of The New School for Jazz, visited the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts when Francies was 15. The two met. “He saw something special in me,” said Francies. “So, he’s always been like someone who’s been a big brother to me, and is always looking out for me.”
Four years later, Glasper introduced Francies to James Poyser, a member of The Roots, which lead to an opportunity to play with the band at a party thrown by GQ for NBA All-Star Weekend. Poyser invited him two days before the gig’s scheduled date.
“I was like, ‘Why are they calling me?’ They never heard me play, like what if I get there and like, I get to the rehearsal and they just fire me there,” Francies said.
After learning around 40 songs in under 48 hours, he arrived at 20 Exchange Place in the Financial District and joined the stage with The Roots. Nas, Jadakiss and Raekwon were headlining the show, and The Roots were playing backing tracks.
“It was very nerve-wracking because everyone else on stage was so relaxed, so I wanted to also look relaxed, but at the same time I was sweating,” Francies said. “I was internally like, ‘Oh my God, I just hope I don’t play something that’s just so wrong.’”
Everything went smoothly. After the show, Questlove approached Francies and offered him the chance to play with the Roots regularly.
Reflecting on these experiences, Francies appears remarkably cool and humble. His large hands are clasped together, and he speaks casually, taking moments to pause and recall details of his past performances. It is when he talks about his own music projects, and his forthcoming album with Blue Note Records, that his eyes take on a severity that reveals a person who is passionate about his art.
Francies describes his personal approach to music as a process of shaping the energy within the sound-waves of notes.
“For me, I always think about energy and the way energy is never created or destroyed, it’s just transferred,” he said. “So when playing the trio setting, at least in my trio, I feel like it’s something that’s always churning, this perpetual motion and this energy flowing from each person to person.”
When playing improvisationally with his two bandmates, Jeremy Dutton and Burniss Earl Travis (who are also New School for Jazz alumni), he said he can tap into a somewhat kinetic energy in the music and reach uncharted territory that pushes the boundaries of what they are playing.
“There will be moments where you just get into a certain zone and it’s like, ‘Woah, we’ve never ventured to this part,’” he said.
His upcoming album, recorded with Dutton and Travis, is due in May, coinciding with his graduation from The New School.
New School for Jazz Professor George Cables, who has guided Francies in private lessons, said he respects him as not just a student, but a professional musician.
“What’s the future of Jazz? God knows. But I see, just in James, somebody who, somebody who audiences will see has a pianist voice,” Cables said. “I think he’s got a future, that’s the main thing.”
Photo courtesy of Rob Davidson