James Duncan

Who is James Duncan?

James Duncan is a musician, improviser and house music producer originally from Toronto, Ontario. He plays trumpet and guitar primarily in the avant-garde jazz idiom. He was a member of New York improv collective Izititiz and has played and/or recorded with avant garde artists such as: Sabir Mateen, Daniel Carter, Tom Bruno, Marc Edwards, Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham, among others in New York City's Downtown scene.

As a producer, he has recorded under his own name, releasing solo House 12" records on Dancetracks, London's Real Soon and his own imprint, Le Systeme Records, which he founded in 1999. Le Systeme has evolved into New Art Recordings.

Outside of the Downtown scene, he has recorded and performed with respected dance music artists Metro Area, Kelley Polar and Morgan Geist, all on Environ Records. He appeared on The Rapture's "House of Jealous Lovers" 12" single on DFA Records in 2002.

An active musician, he has also toured and/or recorded with The Silent League, Aarktica, Arthur's Landing, and Jon DeRosa. Appearances at concert venues include The Lincoln Center, MOMA's PS1, The Winter Music Conference in Miami, John Zorn's The Stone, The Knitting Factory, Joe's Pub, PS 122 and clubs such as New York's Club Love and APT.