Some people think the blues is a down thing. But to quote Willie Dixon again, "All blues are happy blues." Willie would be happy to hear Jimbo Ross plays the blues, because when Jimbo plays, people listen. He's the embodiment of the happy blues - even in the deepest and darkest of songs, he finds the shining silver lining in the dark clouds, the joy inside the blues.

Jimbo Ross performing on a recent AMERICAN IDOL

Some of you were asking so... Here is the link to view my performance on American Idol with Carrie Underwood in 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edx4eP7cZ8k

Jimbo spent a lot of time playing guitar growing up, and it's in his unprecedented translation of guitar style blues to the viola that he has found a sound entirely his own. A virtuoso violist who has long been in great demand as a studio musician for his uncanny chameleonic ability to adapt the viola to any musical genre, he's played everything from blues to gospel, swing to salsa , Baroque to Bulgarian, be-bop to hip-hop, Turkish to techno, and everywhere in-between. He's played on classic albums such as The Band's The Last Waltz and with legendary artists ranging from Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Jimmy Scott to Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Rod Stewart, and Bob Dylan. He's played in orchestras and in rock, jazz, and fusion bands, and for years co-led the great band Swingstreet.