James Staley, Producer/Director, is a noted trombonist and composer in addition to being a founder and Program Director of Roulette.  In 1978 Staley, along with David Weinstein and Dan Senn founded Roulette Intermedium, Inc. In the fall of 1980 He began in his lower Manhattan loft, the concert series that is now known as the the Roulette Concert Series of Adventurous Music and Intermedia Events. In the late 1980's Einstein Records was initiated, and in the spring of 2000, Roulette TV Series began as a collaborative effort with Downtown Community Television.
 
Staley holds a BS (music education), BA (music) and a Master of Music degree in performance from the University of Illinois where he also produced an interdisciplinary performance series.  Staley has released numerous recordings of his work and appears on disks by John Zorn, Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, and others. He received a Mary Flagler Cary Trust grant to record his quintet project "Don Giovanni" in 1990. He continues to present his own work throughout North America and Europe. Staley manages the day to day operation of the organization and oversees programming, scheduling for the concert series, and oversees production for Einstein Records and Roulette TV. He is the 2005 recipient of the Susan E Kennedy Memorial Award, given for his years in support of artists.