Sylvia St. James

One of the dozens of undervalued R&B and jazz vocalists active during the '70s and '80s, Sylvia St. James developed a love for music and performance through her mother and grandparents. St. James began in the church and developed an appreciation for classical and jazz; she was offered a scholarship to attend the Chicago Conservatory and study opera, but a family move prevented her from following through. Instead, she performed in bands and an orchestra in the Midwest. A move to California led her to the Shiva Orchestra, as well as recording sessions for <a href="spotify:artist:3EB0uKE2lGw6BB1UFJrONl">George Duke</a>'s The Aura Will Prevail, <a href="spotify:artist:55PU5eP7Ndxn5T3TvBdXZ2">Wayne Henderson</a>'s Big Daddy's Place, and <a href="spotify:artist:38CPjAAqYV8lTYi6clzbjG">Gabor Szabo</a>'s Faces.

Also during the late '70s, St. James joined <a href="spotify:artist:45P3DwqQNDQ95HXjZRTazu">Side Effect</a> and, as a lead vocalist and songwriter, was a major factor on two of the band's <a href="spotify:artist:55PU5eP7Ndxn5T3TvBdXZ2">Henderson</a>-produced releases for Fantasy: Goin' Bananas (1977) and Rainbow Visions (1978). As a solo artist, she signed to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%22">Elektra</a> and was part of the label's deep roster of R&B and crossover jazz artists, which included the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:1mNnxxnPfHQDOkFjnZmdkc">Patrice Rushen</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3DwcX6M6GF3KGWbVmfNp8G">Leon Ware</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:478WAnkTtQach00La2gvxR">Lenny White</a>'s <a href="spotify:artist:4lrBQQ6NR1pj1nSzsPs7sI">Twennynine</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:2H3xDjMmp31iLmsgXxLFyI">Dee Dee Bridgewater</a>, and, coincidentally, <a href="spotify:artist:45P3DwqQNDQ95HXjZRTazu">Side Effect</a>. Neither one of her two albums, Magic (1980) and Echoes & Images (1981), made much commercial impact, but they were fine syntheses of jazz and sophisticated post-disco R&B, with assistance from <a href="spotify:artist:478WAnkTtQach00La2gvxR">Lenny White</a>, Larry Dunn (<a href="spotify:artist:4QQgXkCYTt3BlENzhyNETg">Earth, Wind & Fire</a>), <a href="spotify:artist:0aavHBWTe9ng2jWfnnQ0hp">Don Blackman</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4AswZj1cwqBak2y6xXyJ28">Richard Evans</a>, and André Fischer, among many others.

St. James didn't release another solo album, but she continued to perform and record with <a href="spotify:artist:11LAePIczpCSQBSEXw22qK">Phil Upchurch</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1SaH16LT1AWVsBU8AKY4HN">Jeff Lorber</a>, the Clarke/Duke Project, <a href="spotify:artist:5lzPV4EKWYxEUk38UcFBVH">Bernie Taupin</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7guDJrEfX3qb6FEbdPA5qi">Stevie Wonder</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7jmTilWYlKOuavFfmQAcu6">Barbra Streisand</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6u17YlWtW4oqFF5Hn9UU79">Harry Connick, Jr.</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1GxkXlMwML1oSg5eLPiAz3">Michael Bublé</a>. She led the House of Blues Gospel Sunday Brunch and taught at Hollywood's Musicians Institute. In the 2010s, her <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%22">Elektra</a> albums were digitized for downloads and were made available through some streaming services. Additionally, the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Expansion%22">Expansion</a> label combined them on one release for compact disc in 2014. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi