James Genus is an American jazz bassist and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. He has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, with an impressive list of artists including Roy Haynes, David Sanborn, Bob James, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Wynton Marsalis.

James joins the Playful Musician to chat about taking a break from touring and performing during the pandemic. He tells stories about playing with many iconic jazz musicians, including Roy Haynes and Herbie Hancock. James shares his advice for working on time plus how he approaches playing both acoustic and electric bass. We chat about playing with Jeff Watts and the Saturday Night Live Band, and James shares how he prepares for a big gig.