Gigging since age 14 and a career musician all of his adult life, Jim’s been around the musical block. He’s an accomplished musician, with a comfortable, deep groove and a restless imagination. His songs are a unique blend of humor, catchy melodies, and his own personal view of the essential craziness of being human.

Growing up in Detroit, Jim was exposed to (and fascinated by) a widely varied spectrum of music. Educated on French horn, self-taught on guitar and piano, he studied music theory at the University of Michigan before embarking on an equally varied music career:­ “cover” musician, session player, composer for radio spots and a weekly television series. A songwriter since his early teens, it took some time before Jim made this his primary focus – once he did, his songs quickly earned accolades: he’s been a winner or finalist in numerous national songwriting competitions.

Jim has two solo CDs to his credit: “Closer To The Surface”, twelve songs of love, life, insanity and natural disasters; and “Connected”, with another dozen of Jim’s remarkable songs, including the award-winning “We Are All Connected”.

In recent years, Jim has joined forces with his longtime friend and collaborator, Jan Krist. Together, they have produced two recordings: “Influence”and “Too”. Both Jim & Jan are part of The Yellow Room Gang, a songwriters’ collective featuring several well-known Michigan performers. Four Yellow Room Gang CDs, with songs from all the members, are now available.

And he doesn’t stop there – Jim, Jan and Jan’s husband Alan have joined forces with the popular roots duo Annie & Rod Capps to form the powerhouse band Diamonds in the Rust.  Jim is also a pivotal member of the rollicking folk/roots-rock/slightly bluegrassy/party gospel band Floyd King & the Bushwackers. And he’s a sideman for various other Detroit area musical aggregations. In addition to his performing career, he leads songwriting and guitar workshops and hosts MAMA’s Coffeehouse, a monthly acoustic music concert series in suburban Detroit.

• Like Jim on Facebook
• Visit Jan and Jim’s website
• Visit Diamonds in the Rust
• Visit Yellow Room Gang website