About
ValGardena/
Christopher James
An accomplished classical pianist, Christopher earned a B.A. in Music and German Literature at Lewis and Clark College, in his hometown of Portland, OR. 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 often heard in prime time on various GermanTV 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.
In the early 90's, a few years into his storied tenure with PolyGram 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 Mercury President, Ed Eckstine.
Partnering with bassist Jeff Leonard, James formed Val Gardena upon a multifaceted sonic aesthetic he calls “the soundtrack to your imagination.”
Val Gardena found success in the contemporary instrumental world in the mid-90s with three acclaimed albums, River of Stone (1993), On the Bridge (1995), which featured the breezy and infectious tune, “Northern Lights,” a Top Ten hit on the New Adult Contemporary (NAC) radio charts and Migration (1997).
As President of Classical and Jazz music – (a position that necessitated a lengthy hiatus from Val Gardena) Christopher was responsible for overseeing the Deutsche Grammophon, Verve, Decca, and Philips labels. He signed and worked with a wide range of top artists – including Luciano Pavarotti, The Three Tenors, Sting, Renée Fleming, Elvis Costello, Anna Netrebko, Lang Lang, Chris Botti, Hugh Jackman and Andrea Bocelli. He was also executive producer on some of the most successful albums of the past quarter century, including Sting’s If 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 produce critically acclaimed albums by Renée Fleming (Haunted Heart) and Paula Cole (Ithaca).
Leaving Universal Music in 2012 allowed Christopher to relaunch Val Gardena but also to pursue a successful complementary career as a solo artist. He has released 9 highly regarded studio albums as Val Gardena/Christopher James, including: Synesthesia (2012), House by the Railroad (2015), The Sad Waltz (2017), Grace from Persistence (2019), Across the Divide (2020). In 2021 his album Better Days reached the #1 album of the year on a prominent New Age music chart, A Rose in the Canyon (2022) and The in Between Time (2024).
Christopher has served since 2012 as an Artistic Advisor to the Gilmore Piano Festival and Bell and Gilmore Artist Awards. He is currently a Trustee and serves on the Gilmore board. “Working with these wonderful artists performing at the highest level while reaching out to the local community in bringing great music to young and old has been a wonderful “next act’ in my career.” Additionally, Christopher endows scholarship support at his alma mater Lewis and Clark College. "It is a privilege to help provide the support to enable these students to develop their dream".
https://www.thegilmore.org
https://www.thegilmore.org