JODY CARROLL
"He does not play the blues so much as he inhabits them..." No Depression
"new blues artist we now can't live without....Jody Carroll, whose textured blues and other roots were dark and haunting.."
No Depression, Amos Perrine
Year End Picks: https://www.nodepression.com/artist/jody-carroll/
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"When I saw Carroll at MerleFest last spring, I was immediately taken with this bluesman, a haunting shaman who conjured up the Delta dust one moment, the Delta mud the next. Plus, he was a striking figure in his Stetson fedora, lean features, and greying beard, wrapped in an unassuming manner that made his music all the more irresistible.
On his newest record, Carroll takes a more Americana-ish look at the blues. Effortlessly switching from National steel guitar to banjo, his look at the country uncovers the waylaid, the forgotten, lost loves, and the blood that permeates even the most casual corners of rural America. But it is not a forlorn return, as he says in one song: “I’ve been away so long, tell me where to start over again, my friend.” And it’s never too late to hear another original bluesman who also offers hope to those who want to be set free..." Amos Perrine, No Depression 2018
"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.....vzWhether 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..."
Full article: https://acousticlife.tv/jody-carroll/
"You have to wonder if he didn't strike the same deal as delta shaman Robert Johnson.."
The Oregonian, Portland Oregon
"Old Blood is more than just a great album, it is an acoustic masterpiece.."
Cascade Blues Association - 2015
" Really good man..you got that feeling...." Legendary Blues Master Johnny Winter
" I like your playing, you sure can rip on that Delta style son...." Charlie Musslewhite
Get Inside This House was awarded the distinction of Best Independent Self- Produced release of the year by the International Blues Foundation of Memphis.
"spellbinding yarns. In among the mischievous spirits and tortured souls, McMurrian plays mystic, conjuring up the dark side of the heart while soothing the soul armed only with a guitar and voice. You have to wonder if he didn't strike the same deal as Delta shaman Robert Johnson.."
Oregonian, Portland Oregon
"t's always refreshing to hear traditional acoustic blues get a modern makeover and still maintain an allegiance to its roots. Sounds like a tall order, but the 15 tracks here are solid proof that it can be pulled off with moving, honest results. Using a precise and strong fingerpicking and slide style, Carroll wastes no time showing that he is tremendously adept at both guitar and banjo, able to beautifully manipulate each instrument and give every song a unique sound. Adding to that, 14 of the 15 songs here are original compositions(the exception being the opening track, a wonderfully revamped take on the traditional "Going to Memphis to See Her There"), and 11 feature his equally jaw-dropping backing band. As if this wasn't enough, Carroll's gravelly vocals and gray-tinted lyrics sync perfectly with the mood and feeling of each distinct offering, allowing this album to be varied and cohesive all at once..." CDBABY.com 2006
"a great, gritty singer and a fluid fingerstyle guitarist with more than a little Delta influence in his sound - and the artistic moxie to make it sound fresh yet timeless.."
Oregonian, A&E music review
"Thank you for doing that one son, like Tommy Johnson used to do, but different, really nice, really good you know. I like that.." Delta Blues Legend Honey Boy Edwards
"..brilliance, tension, effortless charm, dynamism, taste, character, and heart. Strong
stuff. This one ain’t poured from the house well. This is the stuff they break out for the
serious customer..." Steve Murray Oregon Music News
“A very strong acoustic album from a guy who knows his blues stuff…an excellent album for all acoustic blues fans…”
Ian Patience, Autrement Blues Magazine, France
"Rural fingerstyle fluidity across a rhythmic delta intensity. An amazing listen...." Kpsu Radio Portland, OR
“ Jody Carroll is one of those rare players who has developed his own idiosyncratic instrumentalist’s vocabulary within a traditional territory. Never meaninglessly showy, but a fierce approach which is continually, assuredly asserting itself as a voice —despite
uncanny reverberations of the past—like no other. That he has done this with his songwriting too is almost a bit unnerving. But perhaps in the end, it may be the vocals that penetrate the most. A strange marriage of smoky tone, restraint, exuberance, and
implied weariness that both fall easily into one’s expectations of “the Bluesman’s” voice, and that which has been conjured for the first time—fresh and raw and just slightly
refined…” Steve Murray Oregon Music News
"No cliché stuff here. No predictable, typical blues slock here - only smart, eloquent, modern music that is at the same time well soaked in old weird American traditional music. Daring, original, deep, sweet, dark, exciting are some of the adjectives that come to one's mind when listening to him. You are greeted with a whirlwind of sounds that he creates with his guitar and voice. Deep as the wood’s and delta where he comes from, dark as the river water he grew up swimming in and uplifting as the traditional American melodies and stories he was raised with.."
Kboo Radio host Steve Murray and Brad Brenner.
In addition to American/European/Japan touring and scores of festivals, he has toured & appeared with such luminaries as Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, George Thorogood, John Mayhall, Robert Earl King, Derek Trucks, and Susan Tedeschi, Roy Rodgers, David Honey Boy Edwards, Paul Geremia, Louisiana Red, Keb Mo, Eddie Kirkland, Robyn Trower, John McEuen, Charlie Musslewhite, Canned Heat, Robert Earl Keen, Sonny Landreth, John McCuen, Roy Bookbinder & Shameka Copeland to name a few.
"His fingerpicking and slide skills amaze and challenge listeners while his moving vocals draw them into the world of a true storyteller.."
Cascade Blues Association Portland, OR
Jody Carroll's Band Woodbrain (Yellow Dog Records)
“One of the best electric blues bands on the scene... Think of Woodbrain as the North
Mississippi All-stars of the Pacific Northwest. Certainly, this band has enough dynamite in
its sound to blow up a small bridge.” —Jazz.com 2009
" That blew me away , that slide thing you did was cool man..Is that a Stella?, can you get me one? send it to me in Germany..I miss my old Stella.." Louisiana Red
"t's always refreshing to hear traditional acoustic blues get a modern makeover and still maintain an allegiance to its roots. Sounds like a tall order, but the 15 tracks here are solid proof that it can be pulled off with moving, honest results..." CDBABY.com
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