MANNHEIM, Germany -- Ex Soldier turned jazz and soul singer Jimi Carrow performed at the Lindbergh restaurant in Mannheim , Germany July 25, his energetic performance an embodiment of souliquity, a word he created meaning making souls dance.
Since his arrival in Germany in 1995 Carrow has worked for the Exchange. Currently an employee at the Shoppette on Patton Barracks, his path to here began in New York.
Carrow, born in Manhattan in 1956 and raised in Queens, grew up with music all around him.
“My father is an African drummer and dancer.
My mother is a singer and an African dancer. So it is in the blood,” he said. On Sundays they would listen to Gospel while cleaning the house.
“During the week there (was) no telling. You’d hear everything from Aretha Franklin to Yma Sumac,” he said.
Carrow, who is also a percussionist, first learned the skill from his father.
“My dad left the house when I was 4, but one of the things I do remember was him standing me in front of a conga and telling me to hold a particular beat while he was holding the other drums. I guess that’s one of the best things he ever did for me,” Carrow said.
“We used to go to Central Park a lot. You’d put your drums on your back. You’d either take the train or a few of us would just make a whole day of it, ride our bikes from Queens to Manhattan. At the park you’d just listen to where the sound of the music was coming from and you’d go there, and there would be a huge circle of people just jamming.”
Music was a lifestyle for Carrow.
“My mother and my mother’s boyfriend would take me to a bar and I would get up and play late at night. I was 12 or 13 maybe.”
Carrow was originally into the hippie scene. However, when Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died, he along with many others started wearing black armbands. From then on, he immersed himself in the Rhythm and Blues scene encountering highs and lows along the way.
Carrow grew up during the civil rights movement and was bused to an all white school. It was a troubled time, but his performance in track led to some acceptance.
“As a matter of fact, my 8x80-yard relay team was the fastest in New York City. We ran for state and we won the 8x80-yard relay, and that’s one of the proudest moments of my life,” he said.
There was even talk of the Junior Olympics.
“That is a nice little perk, but (as) an unguided child I went the wrong way. One thing happens after another, and I end up having to repeat the seventh grade. Before I could finish that I (was) strung out, wound up going to rehab,” he said.
He spent a year in rehabilitation. He was not yet 15.
Carrow got his life back on track earning his general education diploma, serving eight years in the Army and working his way to the top in radio in Killeen, Texas.
Some time later, his daughter sent him a ticket to her high school graduation in Germany. “At the time she only had enough for a one-way,” he recalls.
Carrow describes coming to Germany in 1995 as one of the best things that ever happened to him. “For the first time after five years I was able to stay clean and now it is over 17 years,” he said.
By 1999, however, Carrow felt there had to be more to life than just work, and he decided to take up playing again. “I would go up to jam sessions and sometimes I’d pay just to get to play. Because if your life contains, I get up, I go to work, I come home, I spend. I get up, I go to work ... that’s your life. It just wasn’t working for me.
“When I started playing my drums again life took on a whole new fresh meaning. I really was happy to be alive,” he said.
Having performed with various bands he decided to start Jimi’s Souliquity in 2004. Carrow defined the made-up word souliquity as “that which makes your soul dance.” Although it can be anything, music had this affect on him.
“Once I started playing again, it just put a whole new forever in me,” he said.
“I only play what I know and that’s classic jazz and soul. I’m not looking to make a big record. I want to have people like what I like, of course with an entry fee,” he smiled.
Carrow also joins swing, jazz and reggae bands from time to time and has played across Germany, Switzerland, France and England.
“I live one day at a time. My motto is: Do something good for yourself and do something good for somebody from your heart and your day is done,” he said.
Through his music he does exactly that.
Performing not only makes him happy but also everyone else present as was evident at the Lindbergh where listeners were grooving to the beat and his soulful voice.
Although he mainly performs at private events Carrow can be found regularly at the Lindbergh, Baden-Baden Casino and Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation events.
Join Jimi Carrow on Facebook to find him at upcoming events.
Social Sharing