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James Chance and the Contortions

Musical Group

James Chance is an American saxophonist and vocalist who led the Contortions and was a central figure in New York's late-1970s No Wave scene, combining elements of jazz, funk, punk and noise.

Leader of the Contortions; associated with No Wave and a fusion of jazz, funk and punk. Performs saxophone and vocals. Sometimes performed under the name James White.

Two DeBaser reviews praise James Chance's role in New York's No Wave, noting his blend of jazz, punk and funk. Buy The Contortions is described as essential and danceable despite extreme dissonance. The Flesh Is Weak is seen as an attempt to recapture that intensity with mixed success. Overall, Chance is presented as a unique and underrated figure.

For:Fans of No Wave, experimental jazz-punk listeners, post-punk historians and adventurous music listeners.

 One of the most important (if not THE most important) figures of that submovement born in New York between the '70s and '80s known as No Wave: James Chance and his Contortions, dedicated to total dissonance, redefine in what is effectively their only official album the concept of funky.

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 The schizophrenic improbable union between Albert Ayler and James Brown played by a white musician, a blasphemy that has never existed anywhere else since.

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