José James and Jef Neve Duo

With his smoky voice and suave demeanor, local singer José James has emerged as a torchbearer for the tradition pioneered by Billy Eckstine and Johnny Hartman; in pianist Jef Neve, James has a partner who's completely sympathetic yet quietly daring in his spare accompaniments and deft accentuations. So promising is this pair that Verve reactivated its sleeping Impulse imprint for their debut CD, For All We Know—and this time, the hype is entirely warranted.