'Awendaw', which takes its title from the South Carolina Low Country hamlet where it was recorded, features Jeff Norwood at his stripped-down finest. The 10 tracks here were chosen for performance and sound quality. Most were recorded live with little or no digital manipulation. Norwood plays solo, melding different styles to create his backcountry musical landscape: traditional acoustic blues: 'Walking Catfish Blues', delta juke joint boogie: 'Kokomo Blues','Bad A** Boogie', resonator stomp: 'Shake','Deep and Cold', delta darkness: 'Black dark,"The Devil' and the alt-country tinged 'Horny Road'. 'Awendaw' is a straight ahead blues record which pays homage to traditional musical values without sacrificing originality and creativity. Jeff Norwood grew up on his family's farm in rural Chesterfield County, SC, where he worked as a field hand and a tractor driver in his formative years. His first exposure to roots music and blues was in the homes of field hands and in country juke joints. After seeing Johnny Winter perform a show in Columbia, SC, a young Jeff Norwood decided to make music his profession. Jeff began his musical career performing in small town dance halls and backwoods juke joints. Leaving the farm for college and the city, Jeff worked in several rock acts, culminating in the debut of his band, The Headnecks, first CD on college radio playlists nationwide. After the demise of The Headnecks, Norwood became disillusioned with the rock music scene and apprenticed himself to R&B greats, The Drifters, and later, The Tams, working as road manager, sound man and fill-in band member whenever possible. He traveled through Mississippi to learn and experience the Blues at the hands of such notables as Odell Harris, Robert Belfour, T- Model Ford, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, the Late Paul"Wine"Jones and others. Jeff also toured and worked with Drink Small, known as 'The Blues Doctor', for his mastery of Blues and Gospel styles. Norwood is focused on the preservation of the traditional music and culture of the American Southeast as is reflected in his music: an original blend of traditional and modern elements bound together with the primal pulse of a backwoods, moonshine-drenched Saturday night. Norwood's sound is authentic deep blues that still manages to resonate with audiences of of its more modern offspring, helping to bring roots music into a new era. Jeff is also listed as an approved artist on the South Carolina Arts Commission Artist Roster for Performing Arts in Education and presents programs and workshops on roots music and its origins.