James Jarrett, Jr. learned piano in Cincinnati at Harriet Beecher Stowe School, helping his teacher Lillian Drayton after school. He learned Barrelhouse Blues in Southgate Alley speakeasies in Newport, Ky, then moved on to riverboats, a 16-piece band & jazz, before retiring in the 1940s. Blues historian Steven C. Tracy coaxed him to perform again and arranged his only studio recording “Look At The People” in 1979. Pigmeat performed at the Chicago Blues Fest in 1992 and the Cincy Blues Fest in 1994-1995.