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Artist
Chris Coole
12+ albums
banjobluegrasstorontocanadian americanachris coole
about
Clawhammer banjo and guitarist from Toronto. Member of The Foggy Hogtown Boys. Chris Coole was first attracted to the sounds of old-time and bluegrass music as a teenager growing up in Toronto, Ontario. At seventeen years old, he got his first banjo, and soon discovered the clawhammer style. Before long his love of playing traditional country music left little time for anything else and as a result led him to pursue a career as a full time musician, a road that he has happily travelled ever since. Over the years Chris has split his time between playing bluegrass and old-time music and has allowed each to inspire the other to the point where it is now difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. This may be attributed to a. strong belief that country music is country music, be it Tommy Jarrell, Bill Monroe or George Jones. "I've always believed that the essence of music is in the individual, not in the category or style of music they play". His unique style of clawhammer banjo playing began to reach a wider audience with the release of his first C.D.- "Five Strings Attached With No Backing" in 1997 and later, "Five Strings Attached, Vol. 2" in 2000. Both albums were collaborations with long time musical partner, and fellow Torontonian, Arnie Naiman. The combination of sparse, well played arrangements of traditional tunes, as well as creative originals struck a chord with old-time music fans worldwide. In the words of one reviewer, "...Arnie Naiman and Chris Coole
