Biography
South Carolina ensemble Jump, Little Children built a loyal regional audience during the late 1990s and early 2000s through an uncommon blend of melodic alternative rock, acoustic chamber pop, and Irish elements. Their path began with street-corner busking in Charleston and grew into a beloved local tradition via yearly New Year’s Eve concerts at the Dock Street Theatre, while wider recognition arrived through the 1998 Atlantic release Magazine along with the later self-released sets Vertigo in 2001 and Between the Dim & the Dark in 2004. Following a 2005 breakup, the group returned after ten years for several concerts and ultimately issued the 2018 studio album Sparrow.
The name itself pays tribute to a composition by blues artists Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. The band originated in 1991 at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where classical studies brought together founding members Jay Clifford on vocals and guitar, Ward Williams on cello, and brothers Matt on harmonica, accordion, and mandolin plus Evan Bivins on drums. A Dublin acquaintance sparked their interest in traditional Irish folk music, which they pursued alongside Delta blues influences; the members soon left school to perform full-time, including a 1992 stint in Ireland, before relocating first to Boston and then, in spring 1994, to Charleston, South Carolina, where upright bassist Jonathan Gray joined and the group cultivated grassroots support through relentless street and club appearances. By 1995 they had shifted toward original pop material and issued the independent debut The Licorice Tea Demos, fusing eccentric acoustic pop with their accumulated folk, blues, and Irish threads. The live Buzz EP appeared in 1997, after which Atlantic signed them and released the major-label debut Magazine the following year. That streamlined effort introduced an electric alt-rock approach, yet the richly orchestrated acoustic track “Cathedrals” ultimately drew the strongest airplay response.
Reuniting with producer Brad Jones, the band tracked a successor in a comparable indie-rock and chamber-pop style before Atlantic dropped them in 2001. After prevailing in a legal dispute over ownership, they launched Vertigo on their own EZ Chief Records imprint in September 2001, securing a solid placement on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. An extended tour occupied the next eighteen months, followed by a summer 2003 hiatus. The group resurfaced in 2004—now shortened to Jump—and delivered the Rick Beato-produced Between the Dim and the Dark on Brash Music, then issued the B-sides and rarities collection Between the Glow and the Light a year later. By summer 2005 the members chose to disband, designating that year’s cherished New Year’s Eve performance at Charleston’s Dock Street Theatre as their farewell show; a live double album documenting the occasion, Live at the Dock Street Theatre, surfaced in 2006.
Ten years later the musicians confirmed reunion speculation with a December 28, 2015 appearance at Dock Street Theatre, nearly a decade to the day after their previous concert there. A compact 2016 tour sold out quickly among devoted followers, leading to additional dates. Festival and short-run performances followed in 2017, and early 2018 brought word that a new studio album was underway. Issued independently in September 2018, Sparrow became Jump, Little Children’s first collection of original material in thirteen years.
The name itself pays tribute to a composition by blues artists Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. The band originated in 1991 at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where classical studies brought together founding members Jay Clifford on vocals and guitar, Ward Williams on cello, and brothers Matt on harmonica, accordion, and mandolin plus Evan Bivins on drums. A Dublin acquaintance sparked their interest in traditional Irish folk music, which they pursued alongside Delta blues influences; the members soon left school to perform full-time, including a 1992 stint in Ireland, before relocating first to Boston and then, in spring 1994, to Charleston, South Carolina, where upright bassist Jonathan Gray joined and the group cultivated grassroots support through relentless street and club appearances. By 1995 they had shifted toward original pop material and issued the independent debut The Licorice Tea Demos, fusing eccentric acoustic pop with their accumulated folk, blues, and Irish threads. The live Buzz EP appeared in 1997, after which Atlantic signed them and released the major-label debut Magazine the following year. That streamlined effort introduced an electric alt-rock approach, yet the richly orchestrated acoustic track “Cathedrals” ultimately drew the strongest airplay response.
Reuniting with producer Brad Jones, the band tracked a successor in a comparable indie-rock and chamber-pop style before Atlantic dropped them in 2001. After prevailing in a legal dispute over ownership, they launched Vertigo on their own EZ Chief Records imprint in September 2001, securing a solid placement on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. An extended tour occupied the next eighteen months, followed by a summer 2003 hiatus. The group resurfaced in 2004—now shortened to Jump—and delivered the Rick Beato-produced Between the Dim and the Dark on Brash Music, then issued the B-sides and rarities collection Between the Glow and the Light a year later. By summer 2005 the members chose to disband, designating that year’s cherished New Year’s Eve performance at Charleston’s Dock Street Theatre as their farewell show; a live double album documenting the occasion, Live at the Dock Street Theatre, surfaced in 2006.
Ten years later the musicians confirmed reunion speculation with a December 28, 2015 appearance at Dock Street Theatre, nearly a decade to the day after their previous concert there. A compact 2016 tour sold out quickly among devoted followers, leading to additional dates. Festival and short-run performances followed in 2017, and early 2018 brought word that a new studio album was underway. Issued independently in September 2018, Sparrow became Jump, Little Children’s first collection of original material in thirteen years.
Albums
Singles
