Just before King James and the Special Men took off for shows in New York City, including at The Lincoln Center, I sat down with their leader, Jimmy "King James" Horn, at BJ's bar in New Orleans for a relaxed audio interview. There, at BJ's, his band, The Special Men, have been holding down one of the greatest weekly gigs in town for quite some time now. I felt quite lucky to be able to catch some words by a bandleader riding at a crest of the project's development.

The power and delivery that make for attention grabbing music always have stories in the background that are supplying the power. It is scarcely possible to create depth in music by mere emulation. Imitators can be very good but they can't supply the hidden mysterious qualities in music. King James is not an imitator but his drives musical and otherwise do come from somewhere. He has possibilities and there are reasons why the sound takes this form right now.

Transformation is discussed.

You may figure some of it out on the interviews page. The same place you can get the ideas of so many key New Orleans players in need of more attention.

Jonathan Freilich Presents