MY MORNING JACKET'S JIM JAMES
By Tom Hallett
Louisville, Ky. native Jim James has been a diehard music lover since before many fans of his band, My Morning Jacket, were born. Picking up on the spirit of genuine American music surrounding him in Kentucky and growing up with a mother who whole-heartedly supported his artistic leanings, he dove head-long into his passion at the age of three... Paste: You recently went to New Orleans to record live with the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band. That recording is another benefit-type release, with proceeds going to help raise money for the Hall. Tell us a bit about that experience, and your thoughts on jazz in general and New Orleans jazz in particular.
James: Man, what a thrill! Those guys were amazing, and the hall is just jam packed with good vibes and great musical memories. What a thrill! We did it old-school: all live with no electricity, and the garbage trucks even played along! I sang through [late, legendary New Orleans pianist/chanteuse] Sweet Emma’s old paper bullhorn. What a thrill. I had a deep dream the night before the session that she breathed her soul into my mouth through a hole in the floor, and I unknowingly carried it with me through the night and the morning, and when I got her old bullhorn up to my mouth again, it felt just like old times, and I blew her soul back out of my body and into her proper habitat there inside the preservation hall. Unreal! New Orleans is unstoppable. The people and the power there is just unreal...
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