Georgetown native Adam James currently lives in Los Angeles, but still has strong ties to the town that brought him up.
Born Adam Broughton, he graduated as a valedictorian from Georgetown District High School. Since then, the singer has performed during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, at TEDxBloomington, and in the off-Broadway show Our Sinatra.
On April 19, he'll get back to his roots when he performs his own brand of jazz music in The Sanctuary Concert Hall (TSCH), located in Georgetown's St. John’s United Church. James has played in the space before, however this is the first time he'll be performing as a featured musician. He attended St. John’s United growing up, making this homecoming journey a particularly special one.
“It's going to be wonderful to see the faces of so many people that I grew up with,” James told HaltonHillsToday.
“Fifty per cent of who we are is our environment. I know that environment so well and I've had so many experiences in that room. So now that it's being utilized more fully as a concert hall, it's special for me because it's a merging of the sacred space as well as the beautiful spaces of a performance."
His life’s journey may have roots in Georgetown, but so too does his musical one. James' father influenced his career. He was a folk singer who used to host a folk festival for high schoolers. Having grown up “in the world of folk music,” James later dabbled in rock music. Around middle school, he started a rock band called Tempest.
It was during James' time at Georgetown High when jazz became part of his life. When he realized he could go to university for jazz, it was settled. He auditioned for and got into McGill University’s music program.
“It seemed like it had more subtlety and nuance than rock music,” James said about why jazz appealed to him so much.
He doesn’t just have any one jazz influence, but several related to different instruments.
“For drums, I was really into Elvin Jones, who was the drummer for John Coltrane. For singing, I started out influenced by pop singers like Elton John and Billy Joel. Those were my major singing influences when I was younger. As I got into jazz [more], I started listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Sinatra.”
Ol’ Blue Eyes’ influence is immediately obvious when looking at James' discography. He has covers of My Way, The Way You Dance Tonight (a version of The Way You Look Tonight) and Sinatra’s rendition of the Christmas song Let it Snow on his YouTube channel. Each time, his singing voice emulates Frank Sinatra closely.
But James is very much his own musician and has a sizable body of original works. His self-titled 2010 album is a mix of jazz and pop. Songs like Someone Like You mix the two genres, while Living Inside Myself is more pure jazz.
James’ concert is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.). Tickets are available at tsch.ca.
More of James’ song catalogue can be found on Apple Music.
