He made his start playing with the Ken Hadley Big Band, which was comprised of members of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw etc. After winning numerous awards in high school, James went on to study at Berklee College of Music, where he maintained a 4.0 GPA for 3 years until an injury forced him to stop playing. After some years off, James started on the road to relearning how to play. Along this road, he has played with Tommy Flanagan, Bob Mintzer, Bill Watrous, Rebecca Paris, Marshall Wood (Tony Bennett), Davey Nate (Brian McKnight, Toni Braxton), Tyrone Chase (Brian McKnight), Chris Loftlin (Brian McKnight and others), Louis Cato (Marcus Miller), Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce, Dumpstaphunk), Mark Kelley (The Roots), Adam Dietch (Average White Band, John Scofield, Lettuce) Ruslan Sirota (Stanley Clarke), Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay Z), Scott Tarulli (Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Abe Laboriel), Phil Grenadier (Jerry Bergonzi, John Scofield), Bruce Gertz (John Abercrombie, Jerry Bergonzi, Joey Calderazzo, Mick Goodrick, Adam Nussbaum, Kenny Werner), Jake Hill, and the list is growing everyday.

You can find James playing all around the Boston area with the original band 3rd Left, Tuesday nights at the world famous Wally's Jazz Cafe, as well as other hits in and around Boston and the northeast states. James also teaches saxophone, from beginner to advanced levels when time permits.

When James isn't playing or teaching, he immerses himself in skateboarding (riding for the Technical skate shop team), playing basketball, or spending time with his project car.

For more info on his schedule, or booking, check his website Jamescalandrella.com. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.