James was born in Carlisle, England; his father was a noted cornet player and his mother a famous soprano, Ena Mitchell.
His final teaching appointment was as professor for horn at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Freiburg, Germany.
One former student recalls an incident where the two of them were at traffic lights in James' open-topped Morris Minor when a pretty girl walked alongside.
Needless to say when the young man did as bidden, James stayed put and turned to grin at the girl.
His former students include over 100 professional musicians, over 30 of them currently principal horn players with orchestras in numerous countries.