Boney James, is one of the most successful instrumentalists to emerge in the contemporary music scene in the past decade. Born in Lowell. Massachusetts, and raised in Rochelle New York, Boney grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Grover Washington, Jr., and Ronnie Laws. At an early age, he began playing the clarinet before switching to saxophone at the age of 10. He took up keyboards in his teens, and later played in a fusion band while studying at Berkley. He transferred to UCLA where he graduated in history and began searching outlets for the musical styles he had been developing over the years. Through the network of musicians he encountered playing with different bands, Boney performed with critically acclaimed artists as Randy Crawford, Morris Day, Ray Parker, Jr., The Isley Brothers, Teena Marie, Vesta, Cherelle and Bobby Caldwell. In early 1991, Boney was signed as a solo artist to independent Spindletop Records and resulted in his 1992 solo debut Trust. A year later, Boney signed with Warner Brothers and released his sophomore album Backbone (Warner Bros.), which went to No. 5 on the contemporary jazz charts in 1994. His 1995 bestseller Seduction (Warner Bros.) added more luster to his ever-growing reputation as a musician, with an identifiable fusion of funk, R&B, and jazz. The album broke all previous records with a run of 17 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Gavin’s Smooth Jazz and Vocals chart. It remained on the Billboard charts for 104 weeks, and made history as four singles from the album went to Top 5 on the National Airplay Charts. In late 1996, Boney released Boney’ s Funky Christmas (Warner Bros.), Two further albums – 1997’s Sweet Thing(Warner Bros.) and 1999’s Body Language(Warner Bros.) both went Gold, and further expanded his popularity. Shake It Up(Warner Bros.) was released in 2000 (in collaboration with trumpeter Rick Braun) and was his third straight GOLD album. Boney’s eighth album, Ride (Warner Bros.), incorporates more of an urban flavor that stems from his R&B roots. It boasts a stellar cast of current musical luminaries, including labelmate Jaheim, hitmaker Dave Hollister, Angie Stone, and Trina Broussard. Co-produced with long time producer Paul Brown, the album continues the exciting musical journey that has made Boney a best-selling artist.