I am always in the mood for a good old traditional blues. Even when it comes from a 21st century band such as the Carolina Chocolate Drops. I discovered them when picking through Rhiannon Giddens’ discography and featured projects. She is simply magnificent. She can play banjo and other stringed instruments like a master, and sing with strong passion and exquisite charms. She’s been part of numerous bands, including The New Basement Tapes, The Giddens Sisters, and Gaelwynd, but she is mostly popular as the lead singer, violinist, banjo player and a founding member of the Grammy-winning country, blues and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops. The band rose out of the success of Sankofa Strings, a group that featured Dom Flemons on bones, jug, guitar, and four-string banjo, Rhiannon Giddens on banjo and fiddle and Sule Greg Wilson on bodhran, brushes, tambourine, banjo, and ukulele, with Justin Robinson as an occasional guest artist. The idea behind Sankofa Strings was to present the catalogue of African American musics: country and classic blues, early jazz and "hot music", string band numbers, African and Caribbean songs, and spoken word pieces. The Carolina Chocolate Drops have released five CDs and one EP so far and have opened for Taj Mahal and, in 2011, Bob Dylan, one of their idols.
Their album “Leaving Eden” was released in February 2012. In an interview, Jenkins said,
"Leaving Eden was an interesting album because [fiddler] Justin [Robinson] had just left the group, and they had already decided to record with Buddy Miller, and had even picked the recording dates. It was an interesting time to be coming in, because they were ready to do different things with the new members. So it was a trial-by-fire period."
The album gave the song “West End Blues,” originally written and sang by Etta Baker, an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. A wonderful rendition, the song recalls the old-time blues style of this part of America. Enjoy!
