James Slater is a piano-playing bilingual singer-songwriter of Bolivian-American descent. Born in Durham, North Carolina to a mandolin loving psychiatrist and a Spanish speaking mother, they raised their son in the tropics of the Panama Canal Zone in Central America. After circling the globe his music has him residing in music-city U.S.A., Nashville, Tennessee.
After high school in Panama James returned to America and was accepted to and graduated from Floridas distinguished University of Miami school of music which includes such notable alumni as Bruce Hornsby and Pat Metheny. Fresh out of college James hit the road with his band and after a memorable trip to Hot Lanta, Georgia he penned the hit single "All I Want From Santa, Is A Girl From Atlanta". This taste of success found him packing his bags and his piano and heading for the bright lights of Hollywood. "I always wanted to see the world, and music takes you here, there, and everywhere. Im just glad my mother made me take those piano lessons, I may have moaned back then but now I thank her every day," says James.
He quickly met and befriended Carroll OConnor, (Archie Bunker) and became the house pianist at the Ginger Man in Beverly Hills, entertaining Tinseltowns elite at night and by day writing and recording his own compositions, one of which caught the attention of European promoters.
James then found himself living in Zurich, Switzerland where he wrote "Dont Break My Heart" for BMGs supergroup Vaya Con Dios. This top ten single enabled him to tour Europe and South Africa with the band as composer, pianist, and vocalist. James says, "I felt like a modern day Hemingway, walking the streets of Paris, Rome, Berlin, it was a magical time." After scoring several songs for different European acts James signed a solo deal with BMG-Switzerland and wrote the sensuous ballad Poco A Poco. Its timeless sentiment became instantly popular and he found himself touring England, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.
He performed in Dublin, Ireland with Celtic Harmony and in Havana, Cuba with the historic Bridges Over Troubled Water alongside Burt Bacharach, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers and many other luminaries. James says Cubawas an awesome experience, vibrant, sensuous, inspiring and totally captivating.
James and his grand piano now live in the songwriting mecca known as Nashville, Tennessee. "I've come full circle, back to the South where I was born, and I love it!" He is signed to Byron Gallimore's Song Garden/Cal IV publishing company and has had songs recorded by Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Wills, Jessica Andrews, Billy Gilman, Marcel and many others. His song "In My Daughters Eyes" has become a crossover classic and even resulted in a grammy nomination.
James continues to perform in Nashville and around the world, practices the piano everyday, loves Cuban food, salsa dances, plays tennis and still finds time to call his parents regularly and thank them for piano lessons... MYSPACELAYOUTSPY CODE START --
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