Recently discovered how much he’s Appreciated
James King – recently discovered how much he is appreciated
James felt a little weird performing at his own fundraiser – but he discovered how much Key West loves James King
James King was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. His mother passed away when he was 11 years old and his maternal grandmother raised him and his younger sister. There was a 1935 Everett upright piano in her house which hadn’t been tuned in many years. It was a player piano but the player mechanism had never installed.
James would open the doors that were supposed to house the player and watch the hammers hit the strings when played. He discovered the black keys sounded better so he would only hit them. 
The adults thought he was a musical savant while he was really intrigued with the mechanism. They got the piano tuned, scheduled piano lessons, and James’ interest in music quickly flourished.
When James was in the 6th grade, one of his teachers, unbeknownst to him, entered one of his original compositions into a music competition and it won. It was published in the local paper and became a big deal. James decided to continue studying music. He purchased a book, with 1000 songs, to learn more jazz music. His instructor taught him how to read the chord structure of the songs. He continued learning more music and was soon able to read charts easily.
He attended Irmo High School which is located in the suburb of Columbia, S.C. Because of his reading skills and love of jazz music, he was almost immediately recommended for an exclusive jazz band. The band was the money maker for the school’s music program. They would routinely perform for the Governor and other dignitaries at various events, showcasing the public education system and generating revenue for the school program.
After high school, James attended Furman University in Greenville, S.C., graduating in 1990 with a degree in music composition. He moved to Charlotte, N.C. and worked as a performer at Carowinds Theme Park for three years. Later, he went to the University of South Carolina to study for his master’s degree and graduated as a Master of Music Composition in 1999.
Mars Music Inc. (acronym for Music and Recording Superstore) had opened stores in 20 states. James applied for one in Charlotte but was disappointed that he could not teach – just administer and manage. The Miami store had a larger clientele and invited him to join their store and teach. On Christmas Day in 1999, he moved to Miami and worked for Mars until it closed in 2002. He discovered that the Florida Keys Community College wanted humanities teachers. He moved to Big Pine Key and started working at the Marathon Coral Shores location.
When teaching a Music Appreciation class at the Community College, James would always tell his students “there is value in all music”. Everyone loved James’ teaching skills. He patterned his teaching philosophy after Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) mannerisms and his piano skills after the famous jazz pianist Johnny Costa. James met Wayne and Jaime Sorbelli at Island Guitar in 2006 and began teaching piano full time.
His Miami contacts continued to lead to composing jobs with a group of 15 other music composers and publishing supplemental works for piano students that would supplement his music income. James hooked up with more local musicians and began performing. Initially, he was not exposed to the breath of the Key West music community. It took a while but he started to realize the remarkable variety of musical styles and a large creative songwriting community, telling stories through music. He feels the isolation of Key West helps foster musical creativity.
Key West gave James an opportunity to prove himself. He feels he would not have gotten this opportunity anywhere else. As an example, Carmen Rodriquez asked James to perform when Bobby Nesbitt, her accompanists of many years, decided to perform less. It was a special opportunity and James has proven himself.
Appearing at his oen August Fundraiser was the person who saved his life Claire Caplan.
On July 5,2024, James was performing with Claire Caplan at Blue Heaven. After drinking a Mimosa, he felt sick and it quickly became a pain in his chest. Claire could not find his pulse and called 911. The emergency technicians arrived almost immediately. One of the EMT’s was the father of one of his piano students and quickly recognized James. He was whisked off to the hospital and, after receiving a stent for a blocked artery, discovered he had suffered a heart attack. The very quick response and treatment led to a strong and quick recovery.
A well-attended benefit was held at the Little Room Jazz Club to help defray his medical expenses. James felt a little weird and was a bit surprised to perform at his own benefit. He was especially surprised to discover how much he meant to the community. The donations poured in – Key West loves James King.
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