James Chance 1953 - 2024

Musician James Chance, Who Blended Punk Rock Aggression with Funk and Free Jazz Expression, Has Died At Age 71

James Chance, the singer, saxophonist, bandleader and composer who in the late 1970s emerged from New York’s “No Wave” scene to embody the genre known as “punk funk,” died today at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center in New York. His death was announced by his brother David Siegfried of Chicago, who did not specify a cause of death but noted that the musician’s health had been in decline for several years. His final live performance is believed to have taken place in March 2019 in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

James Alan Siegfried was born April 20, 1953 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began playing piano under the tutelage of nuns at his Catholic elementary school and took up alto saxophone at age eighteen. He attended but did not earn degrees from Michigan State University and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. During these years he formed two bands, the jazz-oriented James Siegfried Quintet and the Stooges-influenced Death (not to be confused with a contemporaneous Detroit band of the same name). 

After the dissolution of Death, he moved to New York in 1975 and began using the name James Chance. He formed a quartet called Flaming Youth before joining “No Wave” progenitors Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, featuring singer, guitarist and lyricist Lydia Lunch. (Recordings by this lineup were issued by ZE Records in 1979 as an EP, Pre Teenage Jesus And The Jerks.) In 1977, after a period of study with saxophonist David Murray, James formed the first version of the Contortions with guitarists Jody Harris and Pat Place, bassist George Scott III (deceased), drummer Don Christiansen, and keyboards player/vocalist Adele Bertei. 

Reviewing a May 1978 performance by the Contortions at Artists Space in Lower Manhattan, Roy Trakin wrote in New York Rocker magazine: “Mr. Chance immediately established his personal space at the top of his performance by kicking out all those artist types sitting crosslegged within about a six-foot radius of his band, as he snarled and smirked with unmerciful obnoxiousness. The band, meanwhile, lay down a thick mixture of semi-syncopated, twisted swirls of sound, creating a tension of unfinished beats and incomplete rhythms.” Initially, the naturally shy and introverted front man became known as much for his on-stage aggression as for his music.

In 1979, an altered Contortions lineup (minus Adele Bertei and with David Hofstra on bass) released the debut album Buy on ZE Records. In the same year, ZE released “Off White” by James White and the Blacks, and the musician would toggle between these two appellations for the remainder of his career.

“James was the first artist I signed and provided the blueprint for future ZE Records,” says label founder Michael Zilkha. “I was seeking a fusion of disco and punk, and James was too. Once he transformed the Contortions into the slower and slinkier James White and the Blacks, it paved the way for my other bands and a whole slew of contemporaries. James was serious and devoted to his craft and a brilliant and original musician. It was an honor to work with him and I will miss him greatly.” 

The Contortions’ breakup was accompanied by acrimony over issues of credit and compensation. But any hard feelings would dissipate with time and James’ occasional reunions with the former members. Bassist David Hofstra recalls a one-off duo performance in New York with James playing piano for a set of Thelonious Monk compositions.

Beginning in 2003, James reunited with original members of the Contortions to perform a series of engagements, including two performances at the “All Tomorrow’s Parties” music festival in Los Angeles. In his Variety review, Steve Mirkin hailed the band’s singular brand of “art-damaged funk, like James Brown dancing on the edge of the abyss. When they take on Brown’s ‘I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me),’ they mean it.” James later reunited with friends Deborah Harry and Chris Stein for several guest appearances with Blondie; and he continued to tour internationally with several groups, including the French “Le Contortions,” until 2019.

 “Despite the mad darkness of the Contortions in late ‘78, I’ve always been fond of him,” said Adele Bertei, who went on to form the Bloods, an all-female post-punk band, and release recordings as a solo artist for the Chrysalis and Geffen labels. “He’ll always remain an important artist in my opinion. I played with James in Los Angeles pre-pandemic, and no rancor existed between us at all.” 

Guitarist Pat Place of the Bush Tetras writes: “I’m so sad to hear of James’ passing. Working with him in the early days of the Contortions was a roller coaster ride of fun, creativity and insanity. His loss is a great one for the downtown community and the music world.”

Although James Chance recorded prolifically over three decades, releasing 20 albums during his forty–year career, only the ZE and ROIR labels issued more than one album of his music. Other releases appeared on small independent labels such as Invisible (Live Aux Bains Douches, 1980), Enemy (Molotov Cocktail Lounge, 1996), and True Groove (The Flesh Is Weak, 2016). His repertoire encompassed spiky, often acerbically humorous originals such as “Disposable You” and “(I'm Not A) Bedroom Athlete” alongside bracing interpretations of rock, R&B, and Tin Pan Alley standards, these ranging from James Brown’s “King Heroin” to “Why Try To Change Me Now,” the Cy Coleman/Joseph McCarthy, Jr. ballad first recorded in 1951 by Frank Sinatra.

The oldest of four siblings, James Chance is survived by his mother Jean Siegfried; brother and fellow performer David Siegfried and his wife Donna Seaman; sisters Jill Siegfried and Mary (Randy) Koehler. He is also survived by nephews Robert (Kelly) Borden, Michael (Bethany) Borden, Scott (Julie) Rubin, Steven (Sarah) Rubin, and three grandnieces. The family wishes to thank Sylvia Reed and Angel Ramos for their invaluable friendship and selfless assistance during James’ illness.

James was preceded in death by his father and greatest supporter, Donald Siegfried, in 2019; by his romantic and artistic partner Anya Phillips in 1979, and by his longtime life partner Judy Taylor (Bozanich) in 2020.

Funeral services are private, with details of a memorial to be announced at a later date.

 

Judy Taylor

Today we have to bring you some sad news. James' long time partner Judy Taylor (Bozanich) passed away this morning. Although she had been ill with a compromised immune system and multiple health problems for many years, this was still a shock to us.

We still don't have a lot of details other than she started having trouble breathing yesterday and James took her to the ER. Last night they sent her home from the hospital, but this morning James discovered her unresponsive and called 911 but the EMTs were not able to resuscitate her.

We are very saddened and now must think about supporting James in his time of need. Thankfully because of all of you, for the time being we have the resources to help keep his life on track.
We have been so blessed by the generosity of everyone who contributed and we hope that we can continue on and reach our goal so that James can move on and try to heal. Thanks again everyone.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-james-chance-and-judy-taylor

James Chance remembers Steven Kramer

Steven Kramer by Marcia Resnick

I was stunned to learn that ex-Contortion Steven Kramer had died in his sleep of mysterious causes on January 19 at age 59. The last time I saw Steven was about 25 years ago, and I'd often wondered what had become of him since. Besides playing organ and percussion in the second incarnation of the Contortions in 1979-80, I knew Steven as the husband of blonde bombshell Patti Astor, the genius creator of bizarre art objects (strange machines & box-like contraptions often featuring mechanical rodents), and as an all-around mad man. Arguably the wildest of the whole sick No Wave crew (with the possible exception of his drinking buddy, and fellow Contortion, Bradley Field). Even a three story fall onto his face during a swinging downtown rooftop soiree didn't slow Steven down for long!

You can get an excellent idea of what Steven Kramer was like in those days from his appearance in Amos Poe's twisted takeoff on film noir from 1977, The Foreigner. Playing the most demented of a pack of punkish delinquents, Steven's performance stands out as the most crazed of a host of maniacs including Anya Philips, Patti Astor, and Eric Mitchell. You can even see one of his mouse machines in one scene.

When the original Contortions imploded in the summer of 1979, Anya and I had to put together an entire new band in a very short time. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that Steven was a trained keyboard player - he'd never mentioned it before. We found him a vintage Farfisa organ, and he proceeded to tear that thing up (musically speaking, of course). Steven also played bongos, and a miniature conga drum he had made himself and wore on a strap around his neck. And he created some gorgeous devil backdrops for the residency we did at the Squat Theatre on West 23rd Street. The band also included Bradley Field on bongos, Kristian Hoffman from the Mumps on slide guitar, Patrick Geoffrois from Paris on lead guitar, Mickey Sevilla from Kid Creole on drums, and James Webster, a bassist straight off the streets of the South Bronx who we all called Funkmaster. It was definitely the best dressed band I ever had, with everyone decked out in beautiful sharkskin suits, although it was extremely difficult to talk Funkmaster into wearing his - he favored a purple polyester creation and platform shoes. Later, I added a horn section led by trombonist Joe Bowie, later of Defunkt.

Unfortunately, Steven's version of the Contortions never cut any records, but you can see/hear him on two video clips on this site - "Contort Yourself" from Max's Kansas City (with the horns and Steven playing his conga), and the same tune plus a cover of Chic's "Good Times" from the most memorable gig we ever did, the M80 "New Wave" Festival at the University of Minneapolis in Steven's home town.

Steven had been playing with the Contortions only perhaps 4-5 months when one day he abruptly disappeared from New York without a word to me. Later I discovered that he had up and moved back to Minneapolis. His various habits were apparently overwhelming him. It was a wise move because at the speed he was living he would have consumed himself before too long. Steven took everything to a mad extreme in those days. But back in his home town, Steven straightened himself all the way up, and he seems to have stayed that way for the rest of his life - even becoming something of a poster boy for sobriety.

Perhaps with some inspiration from his stint with the Contortions, Steven now became the front man of his own band, the Wallets, who combined some funk with a slew of other influences even including polka(!) - he even took up the accordion. The Wallets were quite successful for most of the 80's, and did three albums before breaking up in 1989. From the clips, Steven was one hell of an entertainer with them. (See them on YouTube here and on the Twin/Tone Records site here.)

I ran into Steven once on the Bowery sometime in the late 80's, but after that I completely lost track of him. For whatever reason, he seemed to have  completely distanced himself from his New York days, and No Wave associates. I was flabbergasted to discover from his obituaries that for the last 20 years Steven had a very successful career writing background music & jingles for commercials with big time clients like Target and J.C. Penney's. Steven always was full of surprises!

He seems to have become quite a beloved character in Minneapolis. One person added a comment to one of his obits calling him an "angel". But when I knew him 30 years ago, Steven Kramer was more like an imp of the perverse. For all of his wildness, and wicked sense of humor, Steven didn't have a mean or cruel bone in his body. His violent flare-ups were always directed at himself. I'm glad he was able to escape his own personal mousetrap, and reinvent himself several times. But I'll always remember him pounding on that homemade conga, or banging his head against the wall in The Foreigner, or all of those crazy mechanical mice.

- James Chance, NYC, January 2013