Judging by the amount of passion and mojo that pour out of every note this artist plays, he is very much a student of the blues.
Whether playing a banjo, resonator guitar, or his 1930’s Regal the tone and vibe of the blues seems to surround this fingerpicker. He delivers songs with grit, sweat, and a perfect imperfectness that keeps you coming back time and time again.
Jody Carroll is quite possibly one of the most important players in the blues scene. He is a pivotal artist within the genre because his grasp of the history & roots of blues as well as traditional music is firm… and it shows in his performances.
Watching Jody play is as much a joy visually as it is sonically. His instruments of choice are all vintage and they speak fluent blues. Not to mention, when he plays them he is able to coax the perfect tone from their old bones. His fingerpicking is as steady as an old locomotive and as barky as an angry junkyard dog.
Jody’s voice has a gravel and grit to it that fits his writing like a glove. Truly, you would swear that Jody grew up in the Mississippi Delta and called Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and other pillars of acoustic blues his friends.
After hearing Jody play and sing you may think what else is this guy good at?!?!?! Well, Jody is a classic example of a triple threat because along with playing and singing his songwriting is just as impressive. He writes songs that seem as though they are part of the traditional folk and blues catalog, but on the contrary, they are from his own pen.
Jody is the real deal and if you are a fan of fingerpicking, blues, banjo, slide guitar, and damn good songwriting you will need to listen to Jody’s music.
There are quite a few albums that Jody has put out through the years and I think if you spend time with any of them you will be very happy. My current favorite album of his is “Old Blood,” I have really been digging the sounds and tones from that album, but you can’t go wrong with any of his collections of tunes.
You can listen to Jody’s tunes on his website and also support him there by downloading his music and seeing if he is playing at a place near you.
Jody Carrol Links
