CHRISTOPHER JAMES/VAL GARDENA

In the early 90s, a few years into his storied tenure with PolyGram Records promoting pop and

jazz artists to international markets and eager to expand his creative horizons, Christopher James

embarked on an exciting artist project with the blessing of label president Ed Eckstine.

Partnering with bassist Jeff Leonard, James a veteran keyboardist/composer – who launched his

career scoring film and television projects in Germany – formed Val Gardena upon a multi-

faceted sonic aesthetic he calls “the soundtrack to your imagination.”

James and Leonard found success in the contemporary instrumental world in the mid-90s with three acclaimed albums,

River of Stone (1993), On The Bridge (1995) and Migration (1997), the second of which featured the breezy

and infectious tune, “Northern Lights,” a Top Ten hit on the New Adult Contemporary (NAC) radio charts.

Bridging past and present, a re-imagined version of “Northern Lights”, and the hit single on Sirius/XM Watercolors, “Outside Inside”,

are two one of the many pleasures on Val Gardena’s new album, The In Between Time.

A stylistically eclectic showcase for Christopher’s dynamic skills as a composer

and co-produced with keyboardist/saxophonist Andy Snitzer (seven tracks) and Bob Stark (four tracks).

The release of the 11-song collection marks a little over a decade since

James restarted the Val Gardena concept and released the 2013 compilation A Different Place,

A Different Time. The In Between Time is James’ first Val Gardena recording since 2020’s Across the Divide, which

marked the blossoming of his creative relationship with co-producer Snitzer and featured trumpet great Chris

Botti on “Two of One” and “Back in Time.”

An accomplished classical pianist, Christopher earned a B.A. in Music and German Literature at

Lewis and Clark College, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon before studying Musicology in

Graduate School at the University of Illinois – a path which in turn led him to move to Germany for

post-graduate research. He started his career in Germany, composing and producing music for

the German film and TV industry. With influences ranging from Elton John and Burt Bacharach

to Brian Eno, Bach, Chopin and Ravel, his fusion of pop, jazz and classical resulted in

music that was heard often in prime time on various German National TV networks.

After five productive years, but seeking a change, he moved back to the United States and began

a successful career as a music industry executive, first as a VP of International at

PolyGram, then as President of Classical and Jazz Music for the label – a position that

necessitated a lengthy hiatus from Val Gardena. During Christopher’s tenure, which included

overseeing the Deutsche Gramophone, Verve, Decca and Phillips labels, he signed and worked with a

wide range of top artists – including Luciano Pavarotti, The Three Tenors, Renee Fleming, Elvis

Costello, Anna Netrebko, Lang Lang, Chris Botti and Andrea Bocelli. He was also executive

producer on some of the most successful albums of the past quarter century, including Sting’s On

A Winter’s Night, Herbie Hancock’s Gershwin’s World, the Gladiator soundtrack, the Grammy

winning Wicked Broadway Cast album, the Grammy winning Spamalot cast album, and The Boy from Oz,

featuring Hugh Jackman. He also found time to Produced critically acclaimed albums

by Renee Fleming (Haunted Heart) and Paula Cole (Ithaca).

Leaving Universal Music in 2012 allowed Christopher not only to bring back Val Gardena,

but also pursue a successful complementary career as a solo artist. He has released four highly regarded albums

as Christopher James since the mid-2010s, including: House by the Railroad (2015), The Sad Waltz (2017),

Grace from Persistence (2019) and A Rose in the Canyon (2022).

In 2021, leading The Christopher James Project, he released Better Days, which

reached #1 album of the year on a prominent new age music chart.CHRISTOPHER JAMES/VAL GARDENA