James Chance – born James Siegried on April 20, 1953, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – was an avant-garde / funk / punk saxophonist and vocalist who is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of the experimental no wave movement. After studying jazz at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, he joined a band named Death. After the passing of the Death’s lead singer, James Chance decided to try his luck in New York. There, he formed several groups that blended an early punk spirit with free jazz and funk. In 1976, he founded Teenage Jesus and The Jerks in with Lydia Lunch before leaving and forming his own band, James Chance and The Contortions, in 1977. His controversial live shows earned him a reputation in New York and caught the attention of iconic musician and producer Brian Eno, who featured him on the 1978 no wave compilation No New York. The following year, James Chance and The Contortions released their debut album, Buy, to great acclaim. That same year, he released Off White, an avant-garde disco album under the band name James White and The Blacks. His agent and partner Anya Phillips passed away in 1981, which coincided with the decline in popularity of the no wave movement. After the release of a second album by James White and The Blacks – Sax Maniac (1982) – James Chance began to withdraw from the music industry. He released the album James White’s Flaming Demonics in 1983 and the Japanese-only Melt Yourself Down (the third James White and The Blacks album) in 1986. Over the next three decades, several labels released live archive recordings by James Chance and The Contortions. He formed a new version of the band and released Incorrigible! in 2012. James Chance died of gastrointestinal disease on June 18, 2024. He was 71 years old.
