James Lloyd

James Lloyd - Althea Rene's Jazz GetawayWith 20 albums later under his belt with “Pieces of a Dream”, James Lloyd has written and/or produced songs for many other recording artists. Those artists include Latin Grammy award-winning flautist Nestor Torres, Walter Beasley, Eric Darius, Nick Colionne, Jeff Kashiwa, Everett Harp, Hiroshima, former-NBA-player-turned-bassist the late Wayman Tisdale and two-time Grammy nominee Najee, just to name a few. You can also catch Lloyd on recordings with Grover Washington Jr., Eddie Murphy, Phyllis Hyman, Regina Bell, Loose Ends and Ornette Coleman. James has played keys for many artists including Joe Williams, James Brown, Lou Rawls, Dave Valentin, Najee, Marion Meadows, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Hendricks, David Sanborn, B.B. Wynans, and Babyface, and opened for artists such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Nancy Wilson, Dionne Warwick, Miles Davis, Mercer Ellington, and Count Basie. 

Arising out of a venture with Heads Up recording artist Walter Beasley, came James Lloyd’s first No. 1 hit, “Ready for Love”. The song climbed to the No. 1 position on three different smooth jazz charts. A second No. 1 hit, Steady as She Goes, was also a Lloyd/Beasley project which spent weeks at No. 1 on Billboard. Billboard named Steady as the No. 1 Smooth Jazz song for 2009. 

Lloyd moved to Youngstown, Ohio in 1999 and characterizes Youngstown as one of the best kept little secrets. Lloyd’s second career could be that of chef should his music career fall through. In his spare time, Lloyd studies Tae Kwon Do at Master Park Martial Arts International and is currently pursuing his second degree black belt.