Hands Down (album)

Hands Down is the tenth studio album by Bob James), released in 1982. This was a turning point in James career, with the tracks "It's Only Me" and "Spunky" being early exponents of electronic jazz. At the time electronica was transforming popular music in reaction to the big orchestrations of the late 1970s (prevalent on James' previous works). The minimalist tastes of the era were also reflected in "Roberta", which mostly featured James in a piano solo.

The track "Shamboozie" is sampled by rapper Rakim on the track "Guess Who's Back" from his 1997 album The 18th Letter.

Track listing
All songs written by Bob James, unless where noted.
 * 1) "Spunky" - 6:59
 * 2) "Macumba" (Rod Temperton, Bob James) - 5:11
 * 3) "Shamboozie" - 5:17
 * 4) "Janus" - 5:51
 * 5) "Roberta" (Mike Lawrence) - 6:53
 * 6) "It's Only Me" - 5:24

Personnel

 * Bob James – Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 3), synthesizers (1-4, 6), synth bass (2, 6), drum programming (2, 6), acoustic piano (4, 5, 6)
 * Steve Khan – guitar (2, 3)
 * David Brown – guitar (4)
 * Gary King – bass (1, 2, 5)
 * Marcus Miller – bass (3)
 * Doug Stegmeyer – bass (4)
 * Harvey Mason – drums (1, 5)
 * John Robinson – drums (2, 3)
 * Liberty DeVitto – drums (4)
 * Leonard 'Doc' Gibbs, Jr. – percussion (1-4)

Brass and Woodwinds
 * Rob Zante – lyricon (2)
 * Jay Beckenstein – alto saxophone (3)
 * Eddie Daniels – woodwinds (2, 3, 5), tenor saxophone (4)
 * George Marge – woodwinds (2, 3, 5)
 * Wally Kane – woodwinds (2, 3)
 * Whit Sidener – woodwinds (2, 3)
 * Mark Colby – woodwinds (5)
 * Jim Pugh – trombone (2, 3, 5)
 * Dave Taylor – trombone (2, 3, 5)
 * Wayne Andre – trombone (5)
 * Jon Faddis – trumpet (2, 3, 5)
 * Mike Lawrence – trumpet (2, 3)
 * Ron Tooley – trumpet (2, 3)
 * Randy Brecker – trumpet (5)
 * John Frosk – trumpet (5)
 * Marvin Stamm – trumpet (5)

Strings on "Roberta"
 * David Nadien – concertmaster
 * Jonathan Abramowitz, Warren Lash, Richard Locker and Charles McCracken – cello
 * Lamar Alsop, Alfred Brown and Emanuel Vardi – viola
 * Elena Barer, Lewis Eley, Max Ellen, Barry Finclair, Theodore Israel, Marvin Morgenstern, Jan Mullen, John Pintavalle, Matthew Raimondi, Joseph Rubushka, Richard Sortomme and Gerald Tarack – violin

Vocals on "Macumba"
 * Patti Austin, Vivian Cherry, Milt Grayson, Yvonne Lewis, Zach Sanders and Luther Vandross
 * Rod Temperton – vocal arrangements

Production

 * Bob James – producer, arrangements
 * Joe Jorgensen – co-producer, recording, mixing
 * Nancy Byers – assistant engineer
 * Mark Chusid – assistant engineer
 * Chaz Clifton – assistant engineer
 * Bruce Robbins – assistant engineer
 * Wayne Warnecke – assistant engineer
 * Vlado Meller – mastering
 * Marion Orr – production coordinator
 * Paula Scher – art direction, design
 * Michael Tannen & Associates – management
 * Studios
 * Recorded at A&R Recording, CBS Studios and Mediasound (New York City, New York); Minot Sound (White Plains, New York).
 * Mixed at Minot Sound
 * Mastered at CBS Studios