For the Carolina Chocolate Drops' Rhiannon Giddens and Dom Flemons, their music has been a sparse affair: a fiddle, a banjo, and vocals. But the results were tremendous. They garnered a Best Traditional Folk Grammy for their 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig.


Photo: CrackerFarm

For their just-released new album, Leaving Eden, they’ve fleshed out the sound by adding three new members—beat-boxer Adam Matta, guitarist/banjo player/singer Hubby Jenkins, and cellist Leyla McCalla—giving them a rich diversity in songs that lean more heavily on the blues and jazz than ever before.
 

With legendary Nashville producer Buddy Miller at the helm, Eden is the Drops’ most satisfying effort to date. Tracks like the hip-hop¬ laced “Country Girl” (Listen to  "Country Girl" here.) and the blues-heavy “No Man’s Mama” (an Ethel Waters track from the 1920s) bring a fresh element, alongside more familiar material like the jug-band “West End Blues.” Eden is the sound of a band both comfortable in its own skin but still itching to get out of it.

Listen to CCD's "Country Girl" here.