Written by The National Council For The Traditional Arts
With few exceptions, the piano does not play a prominent part in Appalachian music, and is rarely the lead instrument. But Jeff 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.
Jeff 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 Jeff 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 Jeff'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, Jeff is conversant 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. Jeff settled in Nashville for a while, where he worked as a session man in between stints on the road and 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 GuilfordTechnicalCommunity College in Jamestown, North Carolina.
Jeff often appears with Doc Watson and is a regular at the Merle Watson Memorial Festival in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He has released three CDs, and been featured on National Public Radio several times. Jeff 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"