Thomas Jefferson Jarrell (March 1, 1901 – January 28, 1985) was an American

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player, and singer from the Mount Airy region of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

's Appalachian Mountains.

Biography

He was born in

Surry County, North Carolina Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,359. Its county seat is Dobson, and its largest community is Mount Airy. Surry county comprises the Mount Airy, NC Micropol ...

, United States. Although he made his living from road construction (operating a motor grader for the North Carolina Highway Department until his retirement in 1966), Jarrell was an influential musician, eventually attracting attention from Washington D.C. when he received the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

' National Heritage Fellowship in 1982. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA, and are considered the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Jarrell's style was notable for its expressive use of

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

and sliding ornamentation, and he was adept at singing while playing. His formidable technique and rough timbre continue to influence modern aficionados of Appalachian

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering ...

and in particular the Round Peak style of clawhammer banjo. Jarrell married Nina Lowe in 1923; she died on February 13, 1967. They had three children: Ardena ("Dena"), b. 1925; Clarence ("Wayne"), b. 1927; and Benjamin Frankin ("B. F."), b. 1933. In his later years, Jarrell lived in the small unincorporated community of Toast, North Carolina. His life is documented in two films by Les Blank. Jarrell died in January 1985 from a heart attack in his home, at the age of 83.

Legacy

Jarrell's first fiddle, which he bought for $10, is now in the collection of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. He was the subject of two documentaries produced by Les Blank: ''Sprout Wings and Fly'' and ''My Old Fiddle: A Visit with Tommy Jarrell in the Blue Ridge''. He also featured in the 2002 DVD ''Legends of Old Time Music''. An annual festival, established in 2002 as the Tommy Jarrell Celebration, is held in Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Selected discography

*1976 - ''Sail Away Ladies''. Tommy Jarrell. County Records *1986 - ''Been Riding with Old Mosby''. Frank Bode with Tommy Jarrell and Paul Brown. Folkways Records

References

External links

Jarrell commemorated
in the Old Time Fiddler's Hall of Fame. Includes sound file.

''Field Recorders Collective''
"To find a superb collection of CDs of American traditional styles; including Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham, music from private collections now made available to the public"
''Been Riding with Old Mosby'' album details
at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

''Appalachian Journey'': PBS film with a segment on Jarrell

Tribute by David Holt to Jarrell as a mentor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarrell, Tommy 1901 births 1985 deaths People from Surry County, North Carolina Appalachian old-time fiddlers American fiddlers American banjoists National Heritage Fellowship winners Old-time musicians 20th-century American violinists