User:Butchlu

James McNary
(Informally known as Jimmy Mack)

James McNary played his first piano recital at the age of eight. By the time he was nine, he played Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. At the age of eleven he played his first wind instrument (clarinet). By the age of fifteen I had studied Music Transposition and Arranging and was playing at least one musical instrument from each class of instruments (reed, strings, percussion and brass). He was also studying advanced music arrangements and conducting. He played bass clarinet and sousaphone in the school band in Victoria, Texas and 1st Clarinet in the San Antonio Jr. Symphony Orchestra. During this period he played piano in multiple genres (Gospel, Classical and Rock/R&B). At sixteen, he was student conductor of the school band and won 1st place in the Texas State High School Band Competition.

James came to New York and landed his first job on Broadway because of his musical ability (piano). However, he was immediately trained by the company as an executive. This meant he was introduced to owners and heads of almost every major record company in the city. He was shown what was then the established methods of doing business in the record industry. Through hands-on training, he was taught production, promotion, and marketing.

By the time he was twenty-two year old he was co-owner of a record label (Down East Records) which was started by jazz musician, Lamont Johnson. According to Johnson Publications and The Amsterdam News, James was the youngest black owner of an Internationally Distributed American record label. It was at this company that the first R&B record was produced which also contained Latin fusion. After their production, of a record called Right Now by Justin the R&B/Latin fusion became a popular musical form in the R&B music mainstream.

James McNary continued to work under the name Jimmy Mack with a variety of artists preparing them for their recording sessions and as a ghost producer on certain record dates. This lead to the eventual challenge was to produce a record with a soundtrack that utilized a live band to be used for both vocals and rap. The industry standard at that time for rap records was the use of sampled sounds, and the dance market used the metronome march beat for all of its music. When the 1979 production of (The Micstro) was released as a record in 1980, the musical arrangement utilized funk in a unique manner, creating a new beat for the clubs. As a result it became a major club hit and is now consider it a rap classic. This record influenced the sound of the music industry to the point that the musical funk sound was brought back into the fore-front of the dance music market. The four beat marches began to change and an emphasis was placed on creating new beats.

James works with potential artist and teaches them that art should reflect the times in which it is created, and the creator should seek the newness of the times in which he/she is living. He teaches to write, play, live what you feel and not the feelings of others and you will find that other will relate to you.