Interview with Taj Mahal

I recently had the opportunity to interview Taj Mahal for the Banjo Studio. For as much of an influence as his records have had on me, it was a very special moment.

Banjo Studio says:

Taj Mahal has been one of my favorite musicians since I was a teenager. We were very honored that Taj would take time to speak with us. Initially slated for a short 15-20 minute interview, Taj had a good time speaking with the Banjo Studio Podcast host, Jonathan Freilich, and spoke with him for over an hour! 

Listen as Taj talks about his beginnings, how he got started playing the banjo, his approach to the banjo and the way he tunes it, and much more. 

If you aren't familiar with Taj Mahal, now is the time to start checking out his very deep catalog of recordings.

If you are interested in Taj’s life and work, the blues, music around the world, and/or the banjo, you will find it fascinating.

The interview is here…

Part 2 of audio interview with Jimmy "King James" Horn, leader of the Special Men

Part 2 of the audio interview with Jimmy Horn is up. To go directly to the interview click here...

 To hear part 1 start here... 

The breakdown of who Jimmy is and what he is up to starts there.  Check it out if you are in anyway interested in the goings on in the New Orleans music scene.     

Part 1 of Interview with Jimmy "King James" Horn of the Special Men is up

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 Jimmy Horn is a fascinating musician with one of the greatest neighborhood regular gigs around: Mondays at BJ's.  That band plays great R'n'B music from all across a wide blues time span.  The band does not come off like a museum piece at all but does give the feeling that you are outside time in another rockin', blues alterverse.  Get right to the interview here...

As Jimmy explains here, the driver of that is a comfortability and fascination with all kinds of music, and especially the blues, since he was four years old.   And "all kinds of music" is really what it means- Chinese Opera to Muddy Waters, Kurdish music to Kiss.  He sees connections everywhere but really seeks to communicate with people and be in line with the sort of energy that will give them what they need on their night out.

      Here he discusses openly, his winding road toward the current King James scenario, from Utah to BJ's, time in Mississippi around Jesse Mae Hemphill and other great Mississippi musicians, Sun Ra saturation.  Playing on the street with the Royal St bunch in the 90s, The Photon Band.  Jimmy plays saxophone, bass, piano, guitar, piano and has a natural feel on each.  How does this happen?  Check out this interview with a musician who is currently picking up pace in the local scene and, probably has a lot to say to it. 

       The interview, in line with the rest on this site, is informal but informative.  You will hear the sounds of BJ's day shift in the background as well as words from harmonica player Bobby Lewis.  The interview shows again what level of interest and love musicians can take in every kind of sound phenomena and how it can cut to a very deep kind of communication that puts people together in fascinating ways.  Enjoy!

Upcoming audio interview with Jimmy Horn a.k.a King James (leader of the Special Men)

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.

Hendrix! "Do you think music has a meaning?"

And in a funny way, a response to the previous video.