Jeffrey M. Carp (July 6, 1948 – January 1, 1973) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player, He is best known for his work with

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

. He played harmonica on numerous charting blues albums. He was also for a period of time, a side man in

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

's band.

Background

Among the artists recorded with were

and

. He played on albums ''If You Miss 'Im ... I Got 'Im'' by

and ''

The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions ''The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'' is an album by blues musician Howlin' Wolf released in 1971 on Chess Records, and on Rolling Stones Records in Britain. It was one of the first super session blues albums, setting a blues master among famous mu ...

'' by Howlin' Wolf. A prodigy, he was said to have played beyond his years. He was a student at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and played with many blues bands in the area, being exposed to the music of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and

. As a teenager, Carp had his own band, The Jeff Carp Blues Band, a group that included violinist Joel Smirnoff. He also recorded with Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, John Lee Hooker, The Soulful Strings, Patti Drew, and Marlena Shaw. He appeared on the 1969 Muddy Waters album, ''Fathers and Sons''.

Career

He joined

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into ...

's band with guitarist Paul Asbell and the group recorded three songs for the LP ''Goin' To Chicago'', released in 1966 on Testament Records. In April, 1969, he was at the recording session for ''Fathers and Sons'' by Muddy Waters. Other musicians present were

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

, Paul Asbell,

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

and

Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012) was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Rec ...

.''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', May 24, 2001
Album Reviews, Fathers and Sons ''By'' Pete Welding
/ref> In May, 1969, he played on the ''Lightnin' ''album by Lightnin' Hopkins which was produced by Chris Strachwitz. Also that month, he played on Earl Hooker's ''Funk'' album. Carp also contributed vocals to the album. Carp had actually been sitting in with Hooker for while from late 1968 to early 1969. After some of Hooker's side men left, Carp and guitarist Paul Asbell were brought in as band members. Carp filled in the missing ingredient for the group that had come about due to

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s bef ...

's departure. In May 1970, along with Howlin' Wolf,

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

and

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

producer Norman Dayron, Carp travelled to London for a recording session. He was playing at London's Olympic Studio, in the recording session that took place between the 2nd and 7th of that month which would result in Howlin' Wolf's ''London Sessions''. Critics and producers described him in superlative terms. A reviewer of the reissued ''London Howlin' Wolf Sessions'' said "the late Jeffrey Carp provided fireballs of musical punctuation via his blistering shots on harmonica." Norman Dayron described him as "the most important talent I've worked with". Writing about a live concert by Earl Hooker in San Francisco in 1969, a reviewer said, "Mouth harpist Jeff Carp ... is magnificent - for my money better than Paul Butterfield (more musical, more inventive)". ''Rolling Stone'' wrote of ''Fathers and Sons'' "talking about harmonica playing, there’s superlative chromatic work by Jeff Carp ... he does a hell of a job". Carp is also credited as the composer of "Bring Me Home", sung by Tracy Nelson as the title track of the 1971

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature *Mother Earth ...

, ''Bring Me Home'' album, on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

Death

Carp died by accidental drowning on January 1, 1973, while on vacation in the Caribbean with his girlfriend Scarlet Grey after jumping from a boat. He was 24.

Discography

(as a sideman) *1966 - ''Goin' To Chicago'' (Sam Lay Blues Band) *1969 - ''Fathers and Sons'' (Muddy Waters) *1969 - ''String Fever'' (The Soulful Strings) *1969 - '' If You Miss 'Im...I Got 'Im'' (John Lee Hooker featuring Earl Hooker) *1969 - ''

Don't Have to Worry ''Don't Have to Worry'' is an album by blues musician Earl Hooker released by the BluesWay label in 1969.A ...

'' (Earl Hooker) *1969 - ''Funk'' (Earl Hooker) *1969 - ''Wild Is Love'' (Patti Drew) *1969 - ''The Spice Of Life'' (Marlena Shaw) *1970 - ''Tulane'' (Chuck Berry) *1971 - ''

'' (Howling Wolf)

Background

Career

Death

Discography

References

Further reading