"This record is all about capturing the moment," Jose James says of For All We Know, his Impulse! release. The album, a collaboration between James and noted Belgian pianist Jef Neve, finds the charismatic young vocalist applying his warm, rich baritone to a sterling assortment of timeless jazz and pop standards. The result is an eloquently spare, effortlessly expressive set. James' vivid performances, paired with the intimate duo format, lend new emotional depth to such beloved classics as "Tenderly," "Body and Soul," Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and George and Ira Gershwin's "Embraceable You."

All but one of the album's songs were recorded in one informal six-hour session at Galaxy Studios in Mol, Belgium. No producer, no overdubs and no retakes. The project came together spontaneously, after James and Neve performed together on a Belgian television show, and Neve filled in for James' regular pianist at a concert in Brussels. The two were so inspired by their instant musical rapport that they hastily booked a studio in order to capture their budding chemistry on tape.

"We just played the songs we love the way we felt them, with no constraints," James explains, adding, "Playing as a duo is very pure and honest; it's just you, the piano and silence."