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| Jeff Little Trio Kicks Off PineCone in Cary Series Jeff Little is a bluegrass, blues, honky-tonk, jazz, rock-in-roll piano player. There aren't many. That's why he's "The Piano Man of the Blue Ridge." Former National Banjo Champion Steve Lewis (guitar, banjo) and bass player Josh Scott will join Little. National Public Radio has described Little as "...a remarkable musician, steeped in the tradition of his native Blue Ridge, " as well as "a virtuosic and eclectic innovator." Join PineCone and the Town of Cary in welcoming the Jeff Little Trio back to the Triangle! Little comes from Boone, North Carolina, in the heart of the Blue Ridge, one of America's richest regions for traditional music. So it is perhaps not so surprising that he began playing piano at age five. His family ran Little's Music Store in Boone, where musicians of all types frequently dropped by to play a tune. Among those was Doc Watson, a neighbor and close family friend whose music helped shape Little's unique piano style. While Watson was a keeper of deep Appalachian traditions, he also pioneered the flat-picking of intricate fiddle melodies on the guitar. A professional musician since the age of 14, Little is experienced with traditional jazz, old-time, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and blues. With a rack-mounted harmonica and vocals, he can also be a one-man show. He settled in Nashville for a while, where he worked as a session man in between stints on the road, and he also worked with a wide range of commercial country artists, most notably Keith Urban. In 2004, he returned to the Blue Ridge to direct the Music Industry Program at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina. Little frequently appeared with Doc Watson and is a regular at the Merle Watson Memorial Festival (MerleFest) in Wilkesboro. He has released four CDs and has been featured on National Public Radio several times. Little has taken his exciting piano style around the world on U.S. government goodwill tours, performing in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bahrain, Oman, France, and Tanzania. Other performances include The Smithsonian Institution, The National Folk Festival, and The National Council For The Traditional Arts "American Piano Masters." With few exceptions, the piano does not play a prominent part in Appalachian music, and it is rarely the lead instrument. But Little is an exception – and a remarkable one. His distinctive two-handed style, much influenced by the mountain flatpicked guitar tradition, is breathtaking in its speed, precision and clarity. (adapted from The National Council For The Traditional Arts) And save these dates for other upcoming free concerts in Cary this spring and summer: • Erin McDermott – Sertoma Amphitheatre, Saturday, June 15, 2013, 6 p.m. • Snyder Family Band featuring Bluegrass Music Camp Students – Page-Walker Arts & History Center Garden, Friday, June 28, 2013, 7 p.m. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Jazz News :: home page |