Biography
Sylvia St. James ranked among the many underrecognized R&B and jazz singers working throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Her mother and grandparents first sparked her passion for music and stage performance. Church singing came first, followed by a growing interest in classical and jazz repertoire. The Chicago Conservatory extended an opera scholarship that a family relocation ultimately blocked. She instead sang with Midwest bands and an orchestra. After relocating to California, she performed with the Shiva Orchestra and contributed to sessions for George Duke’s The Aura Will Prevail, Wayne Henderson’s Big Daddy’s Place, and Gabor Szabo’s Faces.
In the late 1970s she entered Side Effect, serving as lead vocalist and songwriter on the Henderson-produced Fantasy albums Goin’ Bananas (1977) and Rainbow Visions (1978). Elektra later signed her as a solo artist within a roster already featuring Patrice Rushen, Leon Ware, Lenny White’s Twennynine, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Side Effect. Her two LPs, Magic (1980) and Echoes & Images (1981), achieved limited commercial success yet offered polished blends of jazz and refined post-disco R&B shaped by Lenny White, Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire, Don Blackman, Richard Evans, André Fischer, and additional collaborators.
Although no further solo albums appeared, St. James maintained an active schedule of performances and recordings alongside Phil Upchurch, Jeff Lorber, the Clarke/Duke Project, Bernie Taupin, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Bublé. She directed the House of Blues Gospel Sunday Brunch and instructed students at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute. During the 2010s her Elektra titles were converted to digital files for downloads and selected streaming platforms. The Expansion label also issued both albums together on compact disc in 2014.
In the late 1970s she entered Side Effect, serving as lead vocalist and songwriter on the Henderson-produced Fantasy albums Goin’ Bananas (1977) and Rainbow Visions (1978). Elektra later signed her as a solo artist within a roster already featuring Patrice Rushen, Leon Ware, Lenny White’s Twennynine, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Side Effect. Her two LPs, Magic (1980) and Echoes & Images (1981), achieved limited commercial success yet offered polished blends of jazz and refined post-disco R&B shaped by Lenny White, Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire, Don Blackman, Richard Evans, André Fischer, and additional collaborators.
Although no further solo albums appeared, St. James maintained an active schedule of performances and recordings alongside Phil Upchurch, Jeff Lorber, the Clarke/Duke Project, Bernie Taupin, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Bublé. She directed the House of Blues Gospel Sunday Brunch and instructed students at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute. During the 2010s her Elektra titles were converted to digital files for downloads and selected streaming platforms. The Expansion label also issued both albums together on compact disc in 2014.
Albums
