Read our interview with James Poole III

JAF: Thanks for taking time to share with us. Are you a native of New Orleans?

James: Yes, I was born in New Orleans. I am the eldest son of four children born to James Millard Poole Jr. and Victoria Helen Poole. My father was a freelance musician and trumpeter who played the “Chitlin Circuit” in the late 50s and throughout the 1960s. He performed with American pop and R&B singer Lee Dorsey, blues and soul singer Clarence Carter, and with most if not all of the local New Orleans bands and musicians. My mom worked in Tulane University’s bursar’s office for more than 40 years and just like most great moms who were the wives of musicians, she made a home for me and my three sibling in New Orleans.

JAF: What was your influence that led you to playing the trumpet?

James: Along with my Dad, my extended family was filled with musicians: great uncles, cousins, etc., who played instruments and took part in the New Orleans scene either via church or local clubs and venues. At this point, it’s obvious why I chose the trumpet. My dad was my greatest influence in deciding to play trumpet and gravitating towards music in general as my personal expression of my humanity and here I am still doing it today.

JAF: When did you first start playing the trumpet?

James: I started playing the trumpet in the fourth grade with no lessons because they were expensive. My first trumpet was a loaner from a cousin who had been a bandsman and cornetist in the United States Army band during World War II. My dad gave me my first trumpet in 1972. I was in the sixth grade. It was a Bach Stradivarius 37 he bought during a gig tour in New York of which I suspect was around the time he played with James Brown for a short while. I lost the 37 during Hurricane Katrina along with a Bach Stradivarius 43 I bought while in graduate school 1996-98 at the University of New Orleans.

JAF: Tell us about your musical background.

James: When I attended middle school at Alfred C. Priestley, I was further immersed into the music by Clyde Kerr Sr., who was my dad’s former music teacher and a composer, and the leader of the Clyde Kerr Big Band. He introduced me to the trumpeter Clifford Brown and bebop. Also, it was under Mr. Kerr I learned the discipline of practice, reading and writing music which eventually lead to me composing my own tunes.

I attended Alcee Fortier high school where I further honed my chops as a trumpeter and was thoroughly introduced into the prowess of marching band, wind ensembles and brass bands. In 1979 I attended Prairie View AM University for two and a half years majoring in music, came back to New Orleans and joined the US Army in 1982-85. I auditioned and was accepted into 55th army band while serving at Fort Bliss but my company commander wouldn’t concur my transfer so I remained a soldier of the “fourth of the first Air Defense Artillery rapid deployment force” until my release date of 11/15/1985. But the music still burned in me. So I did not stop!

My first formal lessons in trumpet were with Dr. Lucius Wyatt at Prairie View AM University. My undergraduate work was completed in 1993 at Xavier University with a liberal arts degree majoring in music and a minor in studio art under Instruction of John T. Scott who was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, collagist, and MacArthur Fellow. I earned a master of music in trumpet performance at the University of New Orleans under the instruction of Elis Marsalis, performed in Don Vappie, Harold Batiste and Ron Benko.

While in graduate school at the University of New Orleans, I performed as lead trumpeter in the university big band under Elis Marsalis, performed in the Tradition jazz ensemble under Don Vappie, studied jazz composition with Harold Baptiste and trumpet performance with Ron Benko. My first formal lessons in trumpet were with Dr. Lucius Wyatt at Prairie View AM University.

JAF: Do you now or have you ever taught trumpet?

James: Along with primarily being a trumpeter, I taught music on the elementary, secondary and collegiate level: Harold J. Keller (Metairie LA), Walter L. Cohen (New Orleans) and BCTC (Lexington, KY) respectively. I started giving trumpet lessons here in Lexington, but couldn’t find the time to do it consistently so it has been awhile since I last taught.
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JAF: How did you come up with the name Paladin for your group?

James: The name Paladin and how I chose the instruments in the quartet is based on my approach to creating art which involves using traditional sensibilities as a construct, but infusing those constructs with progressive creative thoughts or intentions from a personal perspective. I call it “Organa” or the living music. For me there was no formal introduction to the music I call “Organa.” As a child in 1966, I heard the recordings of Miles Davis and many other prominent African-American musicians and composers in our home. My dad played these recordings frequently when he was at home and we listened to him practice and talk about the music with great awe and admiration.

JAF: Tell us how you got to Kentucky from New Orleans

James: My family and I evacuated from New Orleans to Lexington because our house was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. After living in Lexington eight months, along with all the issues involving the restoration of our property in New Orleans, my wife and I decided it would be prudent to stay in Lexington and here we are.

JAF: Thanks James. We’re sorry about how you landed here, but we’re glad you’re here and part of the Jazz scene in Lexington. And, we’re happy to have you as a member of our Jazz Arts Foundation board.