Summary: This week, Grammy award winning Mississippi singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and Squirrel Nut Zippers co-founder Jimbo Mathus with his “Kinfolks” recorded live at the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Also, interviews with this musical Mississippi maverick. Jimbo Mathus is a singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. Born in Oxford, Mississippi to Jimmy Mathus and Jeanella (Malvezzi) Mathus, his early life was filled with music as his father and relatives were skilled instrumentalists and singers. He began joining the family musical circle at an early age and by age eight was proficient at mandolin. By age fifteen, Jimbo had been taught the rudiments of guitar, piano and harmony singing. The family's repertoire consisted of hundreds of folk, bluegrass, country blues and pre-recorded songs passed down through the Mathus and Byrd families. “Jimbo Mathus & Kinfolks” is a project that takes Jimbo back to his earliest musical roots. Alongside lifelong friend and mentor Jimmy “Buck” Bennett on dobro, Steve Butler on fiddle, Ernie Welch guitar, and Steve Craig on bass, “Kinfolks” recreates the family and social music gatherings of Jimbo’s youth. In this week’s “From the Vault” segment, musician, educator, and country music legacy Mark Jones offers an archival recording of banjo Jedi Jimmy Connor performing the tune “Old Ed Setser,” from the Ozark Folk Center State Park archives. From his series entitled “Back in the Hills,” writer, professor, and historian Dr. Brooks Blevins profiles the curious story of Katy Heidi, a woman of Austrian nobility who became a lifelong transplant to the early Missouri Ozarks.
