Search - Carol Elizabeth Jones, Laurel Bliss :: Girl From Jericho

Two mtn. songbirds demonstrate the joys of singing together

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 07/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Festivals are a great place to meet others with similar musical interests and goals. Guitarist Carol Elizabeth Jones and resonator guitarist Laurel Bliss first met at Port Townsend, Wa.'s Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in 1994. This album of duets came about when the two friends found themselves at musical crossroads and decided to get back to how they started as musicians. After sharing tapes across the country between Washington and Virginia, Carol Elizabeth and Laurel assembled John Reischman (mandolin), Ruthie Dornfield (fiddle), Nancy Katz (bass) to help out. David Keenan also provided some lead guitar on "Halfway to Nowhere," a bouncy Jones original. Three other songs penned and sung by Jones include Girl From Jerico, Why You, and Dance of Love. The album's title cut has a catchy little melody enhanced by the interplay of Reishman's mandolin and Dornfield's fiddle. Bliss' lead vocals are found on material from the Carter Family, Ola Belle Reed, Estil Ball, Joe Vinikow, Hugh Moffatt and others. Her renditions of "Meet Me By The Moonlight" and "Rose of My Heart" and "You Don't Tell Me That You Love Me Anymore" show her affinity for singing waltz-time numbers of moderate tempo.It was the Coon Creek Girls and Mt. Airy, N.C. Fiddlers' Convention that originally inspired a teenage Carol Elizabeth Jones, originally from Kentucky, to get involved in music. She was a member of various string bands (The Wildcats, The Wandering Ramblers), she recorded three albums of original material with James Leva, and she was a part of the Heart of a Singer project with Hazel Dickens and Ginny Hawker. Carol Elizabeth has toured widely and has taught workshops at various music camps. Now living near Lexington, Virginia, Carol Elizabeth is the Director of the Literacy and Language Center in Lexington.After years of classical training, Laurel Bliss changed her musical direction about 3 decades ago after hearing the "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" album. Festivals and workshops found her with a like-minded community of traditional musicians. Laurel played and sang in Southfork (from 1982 to 1990) and then in a duet with Cliff Perry for five years. In 1993, they recorded Old Pal, an album of mostly Carter Family songs, subsequently awarded County Sales' Best Old-Time Recording of 1994. Besides playing with Carol Elizabeth, Laurel plays with the Happy Valley Sluggers of Bellingham, WA. She has also taught at various festivals, workshops and music camps.These two songbirds are solidly grounded in old-time mountain sounds, and they demonstrate the joys of singing together. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)"