# James Francies Calls Back to Houston with 713: Video, Photo

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2021/04/18/james-francies-calls-back-to-houston-with-713-video-photo/
- Published: 2021-04-18T22:13:13+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Keyboardist James Francies emerged on the global scene just eight years ago, but
it’s safe to say he hit the ground running. As both an accompanist and a soloist,
he’s an improvising juggernaut fluent across many musical dialects — which helps
explain the varied credits he has racked up on the bandstand and on record, not 
only with the likes of Jeff “Tain” Watts, Chris Potter and Pat Metheny but also 
The Roots, Mark Ronson and Lauryn Hill.**

Francies’ 2018 Blue Note debut, _Flight_, showcased his skills as a bandleader and
composer, earning the attention of a diverse cross-section of listeners. On 713 
the first single from his forthcoming album _Purest Form_, he crafts a vivid instrumental
tribute to the complexities and diversity contained in his native city of Houston,
Tx.

The quality of life in Houston, America’s fifth largest metropolis, exists on a 
wide spectrum. Its humid subtropical climate, sprawling real estate and multifaceted
cultural offerings suggest a locale of teeming possibility. At the same time, an
undercurrent of economic and social inequalities — the generational byproduct of
segregation and bigotry — persists for many Houstonians, calling out for immediate
attention.

Francies sets the cornerstone of “713” with help from his friend and fellow Houston-
to-New York transplant, drummer Jeremy Dutton. His deep pocket would be at home 
under a Houston hip-hop icon like Brad “Scarface” Jordan. In this context, Dutton’s
wide drumbeat allows Francies to reveal streams of Art Tatum-esque ornamentation,
and a linear harmonic movement that could reflect the ten winding waterways flowing
through Houston’s surrounding areas.

Bassist Burniss Travis, meanwhile, has a radar trained acutely on Francies’ every
move. His statements are textbook examples of intentionality, clarity and economy.
Throughout the composition, the members of the trio move together in a dynamic procession
mostly celebratory of their city — until the ending. Francies’ rapid-fire arpeggios
at the tune’s conclusion suggest a new tension in the piece that we have not experienced.

Could this be a sonic suggestion of a new, liberated uprising in Houston, poised
to replace a crumbling and outmoded conservatism? The listener will have to decide
for themselves.

![James Francies](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dd66828/2147483647/
strip/true/crop/6067x4912+0+0/resize/880x712!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.
s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2Fd0%2F5c05c7874b688830e1465e545a22%2Fjamesfrancies-9738-byshervinlainez.
jpg)

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