Once you get past the gustatory yumminess of their name, the Carolina Chocolate Drops get all auditorily delicious on you with old-tymey string music that chugs with the merry energy of youth. Take one look at their current touring schedule and you can see that these young African American musicians (two men and a woman) have pounced upon an aspect of American music that really needed to be rediscovered.

Rhiannon Giddens (banjo, fiddle, and voice), Justin Robinson (fiddle and voice), and Dom Flemons (guitar, banjo, harmonica, jug, snare, and voice) are based in North Carolina. They met in 2005 at the Black Banjo Gathering — a groundbreaking musical and educational event that was held in Boone, North Carolina, and organized by Black Banjo: Then and Now. This group brings together African American banjoists who play old-time music, classic banjo, blues, bluegrass, jazz, and funk, as well as other banjoists, percussionists, and scholars.

The banjo, of course, originated in Africa and has a long and fascinating history. Black banjoists have played it in this country for centuries — a fact that is often overlooked, especially with the appropriation of the instrument by white bluegrass and country musicians.

The focus of this trio is primarily the music of the Piedmont area of the Carolinas. In Piedmont string-band music, the focus is on the banjo as the lead instrument, says the group's website. Among black ensembles, the banjo often sets the pace — sometimes sharing the sound with a fiddle, guitar, or mandolin.

In a YouTube video of the group, the Drops are sitting on a low, stone wall, their feet stamping up and down in time as they play. Giddens's long hair blows about her face as her fingers grasp and dance about the neck of her banjo. Robinson drops his fiddle as he sings an old, old song. Flemons blows into an old jug. Altogether, it's a deep but raw and timeless sound.

The group's 2007 CD Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind is filled with great, danceable tunes and startling tracks like "Little Margaret" — which Giddens sings, unaccompanied, with a shimmering intensity.

A global truth emerges as you listen to the record: that there's no "ownership" in American roots music. It belongs to everyone. "This music tells the story of my family — black, white, and Indian," says Giddens. "It is home to me, and I feel honored and blessed to be able to be able to play it and to help keep some of these traditions alive."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are at the Ark Tuesday, January 15.

—Whit Hill

[Review published January 2008]