JIMMY JAM: TIME FOR A REUNION: Producer/songwriter/keyboardist preps for new discs with old friends.
By Kenya M. Yarbrough
(December 11, 2008)

*Legendary music man Jimmy Jam is all about reuniting. The super-producer, songwriter, and famed keyboardist, born James Harris, told EUR’s Lee Bailey that he is currently finishing up a new album with the Time, the famed funk-pop-R&B crew that scored a number of 80s and 90s hits such as “The Bird,” “Jungle Love,” and “777-9311.”

“We’re in the studio right now putting the final touches on a brand new Time album – all the original members,” Jam said. “We’re having a great time. We’re getting along, which is amazing.”


The group actually got back together just under a year ago when they performed on the Grammys. The Time apparently had such a good time on the awards show, they decided to take their act to Vegas and had a very successful turn of performances through the summer.


“[That] led us to ‘We’re all still getting along, why don’t we put an album together?’” Jam continued. “So we’re having a great time and hopefully at the beginning of the year, you’ll hear some brand new Time music.”


It’s been 18 years since The Time released an album with the original members. The band began breaking apart in the mid-80s, first with Jam and Lewis who became one of the most prolific writing duos in popular music. The group's last album, 1990's ‘Pandemonium’ featured members throughout: Morris Day and Jerome Benton on vocals, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis’ songwriting skills, and guitarist Jesse Johnson on several tracks.


“The biggest challenge [for the new project] was getting everybody together initially. It wasn’t like we weren’t getting along with each other, but it was kind of like when you see someone and say, ‘Hey, we should get together and have dinner,’ but if you don’t actually set the date, it never gets done,” Jam explained.


He said that when the group was asked to play the Grammys, it all started to come together. The Grammy appearance was in essence the date for dinner.


“It was either we’re going to do this or we’re not going to do this, and if we’re not going to do it, then we’re not serious about getting this thing back together because that’s a great opportunity,” he said. “So when everybody signed on to do the Grammys then that all of a sudden became that point where we started talking about maybe we should do an album, maybe we should do some shows.”


Jam said that it was important that everybody get on board and had to be at the point in their life that they felt it was a priority to work on the disc. But he also admitted that he had the most reservations about doing the new album – because of other loves in his life.


“First of all, I love producing; I love writing. And secondly, I love my family and I was trying not to do things that would take me away from them,” he said. “But Vegas during the summer was great because our families got to come. And it was just like old times, but our families were there. That made it so that it worked and then that led into, ‘Let’s do an album.’”


“It’s something that not only we need just spiritually to do, but I think it’s something that the industry needs to see,” he continued. “[To see] a band and to see that – like the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith and some of the great rock bands that never seem to break up – that we have something important. I’m always heartened to see New Edition get back together because a lot of times, that just doesn’t happen. So I feel like we have an opportunity to do that and we’re going to do it and have a great time doing it.”


Jam also spoke about another reunion – one with his good friend Janet Jackson. Jackson, who’d worked with the team of Jam & Lewis for over two decades, but for her 2008 “Discipline” disc, Jackson chose not to have the duo contribute, a choice some fans and industry-ites thought unwise. However, Jam shrugged it off.


“We’re not perfect,” he said of the Jam & Lewis team. “We don’t always make the right decisions. We’ve done records in our time, luckily not many, but we’ve done some that weren’t the best records to do. We went into all the records with good intentions though. You don’t go into it saying, ‘Ooh, I’m going to make a bad record.’ You go in to make a great record. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. We had mad records together for 20 years and she decided to go a different direction and I applaud her for it. I want to see her successful in whatever she does.”


Jam said that Jackson certainly doesn’t need to do anything; that a new project with them would simply be a want, as is with both the pending and possible discs.


“I think she’s anxious to do some work. And [The Time] is back together because we want to be together, not because we need to be together,” he said. “If we collaborate with Janet again, and by the way, I never thought that we wouldn’t collaborate again. Just because you work with another producer or decide to go the other way, that that closes the door of the possibility. We want to work with her and I think she wants to work with us and if that all happens, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

They should throw some tracks on Myspace. They've been talking about new songs for 20 years, but we never hear them.

I wonder how much of the material from the 1997 Time reunion album Jimmy & Terry have been sitting on will be included. I do believe Prince gave them some tunes for that one.

Aboot time too!

'dre

the question remains who will block this event from happening or do they need 2 get a certain person's permission 2 continue?

and as 4 janet ..yeah she needs this duo back in her life and throw the gremlin 2 the curb..just lock these 3 back in2 the studio and viola

I wouldn't mind a Prince-free Time album, with Jam and Lewis writing/arranging all of the tracks... Or perhaps a tour in '09 with The Family??

I get from this interview that Prince has nothing to do with the project and they are free to move ahead. I'm excited. I hope I finally get to see the original members in person once and for all.

L4OATheOriginal said:

I always thought Prince owned the name "The Time" and if the guys were to release anything under that name, they would need his permission. If that has changed and The Time are totally on their own then good for them.

Janet is currently unsigned, right? She should make a guest appearance on a track as a sexy socialite. Just like Vanity did on "The Walk".

I will buy it!

sextonseven said:

-----
P does own the name and they have been using for 20 years with his permission.
I doubt Jimmy would be out discussing the CD if they did not have P's okay to use the name for this project.

i wonder what the record label will be. wasn't the time project always under prince s direction?

Definitely looking forward to this!

tricky2 said:

"Jackson chose not to have the duo contribute"

Damm.....why janet=?????

Sounds promising.....I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'll be curious to hear what they come up with. I just hope it isn't something that sounds like it's trying to match mainstream hip hop.

I wonder if there will be more live shows. Surprised the interviewer didn't ask and he didn't mention it.

NICE!!!! WORD

PurpleKnight said:

There's nothing worse than a classic funk r&b legends having a song with 50 cent, Rhianna or T.I. on it.

missfee said:

I think they are smarter than that... Pandemonium did a nice job of sounding contemporary while holding on to The Time's classic sound.

Graycap23 said:

I'm excited to hear what they've got ready for the world.

I just can't see this album with any Prince songs on it, which as I think about it, is totally cool with me.

For mine it can be all Jam & Lewis for half, Jesse for the other half, throw on a Monte song, AND KEEP IT IN THE POCKET.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that this CD gets released.

Not a single mention of Prince.

Cool.

My best hope for this album is that it is well received, which might inspire Prince's competitive side into making listenable music again.

Jude418 said:

This is going to be the follow up to Pandemonium in more ways than one

I hate to say it, but I don't really have high hopes that their new album will be as good as it will be hyped up to be. They have a bit of a hurdle to jump over - writing an album by themselves, without any songs from Prince, who wrote the majority of the songs on their first four albums, which got them famous in the first place.

eaglebear4839 said:

If Jam & Lewis are behind it, there's no need to worry. They've had more hits in recent years than Prince.

It'll be very interesting to hear what they come up with...

Could they still pull off something as irresistably funky as Chocolate or Wild & Loose at their age?

Prince doesn't seem to be able to...

eaglebear4839 said:

You make it sound as if Jimmy, Terry, Jesse and Monte never wrote any songs before.

I'm excited for this regardless of whether P is involved or not.....although in an ideal world, I'd like him to be.

I'd like for this to be like Pandemonium, where Prince has a solid input but without being too overbearing.

But I don't want Jam and Lewis to be overbearing either. That's a potential problem too.

IDEALLY, I'd like Prince to contribute 3 songs, Jam & Lewis to contribute 3 songs, Monte Moir to contribute 3 songs, and Jesse Johnson to contribute 3 songs. Now that would be perfect and would make a solid 12 track album.

Yeah, but "Pandemonium" was made in 1990 and shit hop had not taken over yet. Just look at the projects that Jam and Lewis have produced since then which sound shit hoppish, midtempo, and absolutely horrible. The album they produced for Chaka Khan last year was probably better than anything they've done in years but they didn't have one damn fast jam on the album and then had the nerve to put "funk" in the title. If they don't put some uptempo funk on their new album with hard drums and slammin' bass, they can keep it. I'll keep my eyes open for the new album but I'm not getting my hopes up that it will be good. I've had enough disappointments with new albums from old artists who sell out.