Boney James Gets Back to What Matters on 20th Album A Simple Man

It all started in 1992 with the release of Trust, Boney James’ debut album on the independent label Spindletop Records.

. More than three decades later, James is preparing to release A Simple Man, his 20th studio album. Along the way, he’s earned four Grammy nominations, four Gold albums and, in 2024, became the first artist to score 20 No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz chart. But rather than looking back at those accomplishments, A Simple Man finds James thinking about where he is now and, particularly, what matters to him as he gets older.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized I don’t need a lot to make me happy,” James says. “I love making music and playing my saxophone. I strive to focus on the simple and positive things around me and filter out the noise.” In another conversation about the album, he put it this way: “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve wanted to drop the extraneous things.” That desire to simplify ultimately became part of the record itself. “The simple life is something I crave, and that spirit found its way into this album. A Simple Man is about getting closer to what feels essential, both in the music and in my life.”

Musically, A Simple Man continues the blend of jazz and R&B that has been at the heart of James’ sound for decades, while still giving him room to explore. Produced by James, A Simple Man includes guests Ledisi, trumpeter Marquis Hill and guitarist Larry Carlton. James plays flute on the opening “Dreams,” teams with Carlton for the Steely Dan-influenced “Storybook,” and reimagines Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” over a D’Angelo-inspired groove. Even after 20 albums, James says he continues to practice and experiment, still discovering things he can do with the saxophone that he couldn’t do before. He isn’t treating album number 20 as a destination. He’s still making progress.

Maybe that’s what makes the title feel especially appropriate after more than three decades of recording. There are plenty of career milestones to celebrate, but James seems less interested in accumulating accolades than in stripping things down to what makes him happy: making music, playing his saxophone and filtering out some of the noise. There’s something refreshing about hearing that from an artist this far into his career. A Simple Man from Boney James is out October 2 on Concord Records.