MUSIC Jazz artist from Pieces of a Dream keeps up major career from here

The musician wants to break into scoring films.
By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
The notion that it's important to live in a major metropolis to succeed in the music industry doesn't apply to the busy lifestyle of Pieces of a Dream's co-founder James Lloyd.
Living in the Youngstown area for the past five years has not diminished his standing within the music industry.
"I think I've branched out even more since I've come here," Lloyd said during a recent interview. "Maybe it's just that my space is so peaceful, and I'm really comfortable that I'm able to create a lot. All these opportunities keep popping up, 'OK, cool. I'll work with you, too. OK, I'm done with this guy. Who's next?'"
With a home studio at his disposal, several airports within a relatively short driving distance and access to the latest technology, including the modern musician's best "friend" -- Pro Tools computer software -- Lloyd has provided his writing, playing and production skills to a variety of projects. When asked, he quickly mentions his work with fellow jazz artists Nestor Torres, Wayman Tisdale, Alexander Zonjic and Jeff Kashiwa.
Much music
"It's the bomb. I just go downstairs and write, which is what I love to do all the time anyway.
"I have so much material. Some of it is not Pieces of a Dream stylistically. Even beyond that, there's just not enough room on our albums. We'd have 25 cuts on each one. But nothing gets wasted."
Besides his contributions toward the recently released Pieces of a Dream album "No Assembly Required," he has made several attempts to break into scoring films. Although Lloyd's bid for a new outlet for his material hasn't paid off, that hasn't slowed him down.
What doesn't work in one area is then adapted and used toward another. He related how a composition that was not used in a Denzel Washington movie became the inspiration for "Lunar Lullaby," the final track off the current Pieces album.
Early days
Lloyd showed an early disposition for adapting his talents when he moved from his classical studies at age 6 after an introduction to jazz five years later. At that time he met his future bandmates in Pieces of a Dream, Curtis Harmon and Cedric Napoleon, who amicably left the band in the late '90s.
With influences including Earth, Wind & amp; Fire, Stevie Wonder, George Duke and Herbie Hancock, the trio mixed R & amp;B and jazz into a style now referred to as smooth jazz. While still in high school, they gained a formidable reputation as a live act around their Philadelphia home base.
"Our manager Danny Harmon [Cedric's father], we rehearsed in his basement, and he'd sit us down and have us listen to Oscar Peterson, MJQ, Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis. So, we'd learn all these tunes and it would become part of our repertoire.
"We were playing things that were on the radio but at the same time we were doing straight-ahead jazz. So, there was the versatility and duality in the group from its inception. And that just progressed as the years went on. I'd listen to more R & amp;B and hip-hop and more Oscar, Art Tatum, Miles Davis and other people, and shared the bill with people like Dizzie Gillespie and Count Basie."
A break
Catching the ear of the legendary Grover Washington Jr. led to a deal with his production company and a debut album on Elektra records in 1981. For Lloyd, who was a senior in high school when "Pieces of a Dream" was released, that meant going from the classroom to touring the world in support of Washington.
More than two dozen releases later and Lloyd continues to find reasons to get excited about his career. Besides his suitable surroundings, he's pleased with the collaborations that resulted in the 11 tracks that make up "No Assembly Required," and excited about the group's upcoming world tour. He displays that rarity among musicians, admiration for his record company, Heads Up, a division of Cleveland's Telarc records, a label with an acclaimed jazz and classical roster.
"They're growing. We're growing. They're doing well for the band, really pushing our stuff out there."