Interview with Clive Carroll: live at the Six Bars Jail in Florence with Dariush Kanani

On May 30^th 2025, Clive Carroll and Dariush Kanani performed at the Six Bars Jail in Florence, exceptionally reviving the line-up of their iconic tour from recent years dedicated to the music of John Renbourn. Thanks to the guys at Six Bars Jail, we had the honor of being able to open their evening, as well as interviewing Clive Carroll.

Carroll is one of the most renowned names in the current acoustic guitar scene. A musician since the age of two and a graduate of Trinity College of Music in London, he was discovered at a very young age by John Renbourn. John wanted him with him on numerous tours and together they worked on the soundtrack of the film Driving Lessons. Turning fifty this year, he has a very bright career as a composer (to date he has released five albums and is working on the sixth) and in these decades he has played on almost all continents, sharing the stage with names of the caliber of John Williams, Ralph Towner, Tommy Emmanuel and, just in these days, Pierre Bensusan. His latest release “The Abbot” is a double CD composed entirely of Renbourn compositions re-played, often rearranged and, in two cases, played for the very first time. We thank him again for this chat; he is a very helpful person, very humble and with an exquisite sense of humor.

How did you meet John Renbourn?

I was studying composition and classical guitar at the conservatory in London and, like many students, I often went home on weekends: partly to eat a hot meal and partly, perhaps, to get my clothes washed. Sure I could do it all myself, but it was a luxury to be able to go home. One of those weekends I noticed that John Renbourn would be playing at our local folk club; so I spoke to the organizer to be able to open the concert. I prepared some Elizabethan lute compositions by John Dowland, some solo guitar pieces by Joe Pass, and some of my own compositions. I didn't see John until the end of the concert. I thought he was downstairs (the folk club had two floors and the concerts were held upstairs) changing strings or filing his nails, but instead I discovered that he had watched my opening act from the back of the room! In the end we realized we had many interests in common: medieval and early Renaissance music, jazz from the 60s and 70s... so we decided (or rather, he decided) that we would keep in touch. It was an honor for me.

Tell us about your latest album "The Abbot"

There are few things we should be grateful to Covid for, but "The Abbot" was born precisely thanks to it. It was, for me, the only positive thing (although "positive", in this context, is not a very happy term). Living on the road you never think you have time to learn songs you really want to know how to play. So, being locked in the house for two years gave me the opportunity to learn to play The Hermit, The Pelican, Lady goes to Church... I learned a few. So my curiosity led me further and further and, after a few months, I had learned about ten pieces. So I thought: I could record an album of reinterpretations of John Renbourn's songs. I thus began to explore his lesser-known repertoire and, after two and a half years, I ended up with a two-hour double album played with 21 musicians and a medieval music group. Clearly it was no longer a solo project. It was fun to learn those tracks and record them together with all of them. It's a project born out of passion, so I self-produced it. The problem, which I hadn't thought about in the slightest before, was the fact that I would have to pay everyone! I was lucky because the people I was looking for were available for the project; I had to be respectful and pay them, of course. But all of a sudden I saw my finances go into the red! So after two and a half years of fun, the reality of the facts was this: records had to be sold. Luckily I sold some during the 40 tour dates with Dariush, online as digital files and as a double CD. The main goals were two: to spread John Renbourn's music and to rebalance my finances!

Having played with John, weren't you already somewhat familiar with the pieces?

I knew the pieces from the recordings. I don't think it's wrong to say that John never played these pieces live: he never played The Hermit; I heard that he sometimes played The Pelican; I know of a live performance of The Lady and The Unicorn at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. But he used to play the songs he was most familiar with: he could start with Sweet Potato, then do something like Lord Franklin and close with his classic medley: Lamentation for Owen Roe O’Neill with The Orphan and The English Dance. Sometimes he played Little Niles, Blues Run the Game, Great Dreams From Heaven and not many others. These were his usual pieces. John and I played Lady Nothinge’s Toye Puff together (I played Bert Jansch's part), So Clear (in Italy!) and a few others. For my project I therefore tried to combine: pieces that John played and that I wanted to learn, some classics like The Hermit, The Lady and The Unicorn and Another Monday, then other lesser-known songs that I wanted people to hear. In particular, two of the pieces were never recorded by John (Intrada and Danse Royale); he thought of them for a medieval group. I partially rearranged them: I took fragments from his archives and rebuilt them trying to make them work.

Tell us about your collaborations with Hollywood and in general with the world of film music

In London there is a small group of fantastic guitarists who have continued to fill clubs for years. Sometimes, film producers contact their agency looking for someone who can play both the guitar and the banjo. And if the “crème de la crème” of this London scene refuses to play the banjo, then they might call me (so there's little chance!). But it happened to me recently: I played the banjo in the latest movie about Bob Dylan "A Complete Unknown".

Tell us about when you played with Ralph Towner

It was about twenty years ago. I received the fantastic proposal to participate in an event called "The International Guitar Night" organized by a certain Brian Gore, from California. There were four guitarists: him, Marco Pereira from Brazil, Ralph Towner and me. I didn't know his music, but as soon as I met him and listened to some of his productions I immediately became a fan of his. He's a cool guy with a bizarre sense of humor, drinks excellent coffee and truly loves music: he is extremely dedicated to his work as a composer. We got along very well. We only played a few pieces together, then we each had 15 minutes of stage time. Every night there were over a thousand spectators, it was a really big event! The International Guitar Night was a wonderful opportunity and it was an honor for me to participate. Ralph and I shared a passion for John Dowland: there, that name comes up again!

Are you working on new tracks? Do you have any upcoming projects?

Yes! My next album will be mostly solo guitar. I will record it in January and the tour is already organized for next April. So I really have to have it ready!

Will you come to Italy?

I have nothing on the agenda at the moment, but if there was even just one opportunity to play in Italy I will certainly come! It would be very nice, my wife loves Italy.

We come from Turin and we remember a beautiful live show of yours at the Folk Club last year

The Folk Club of Turin is a fabulous place. I remember a story they told me about Pete Seeger. In the early days of the club the organizer absolutely wanted Pete Seeger to come and play. So he contacted his agency in the United States, who replied like this: "we would love to! Maybe next year". The following year arrived and he contacted the agency again, who said "it's really a nice idea but unfortunately Pete is very busy; maybe next year". Time passed without achieving anything and he decided to go all the way to New York. There he found the agency's address and literally went knocking on their door. "Italians want to hear Pete! Could he come?" he asked again; and the agents replied, right there in front of him: "maybe next year". He couldn't take it anymore, he couldn't believe that everyone was telling him "no, maybe next year". So he managed to find out Pete's home address, and literally went knocking on his door. He told him: "Pete, I'm very sorry to bother you, but the Italians need a concert of yours! What do you think? Can you come?". guess what he replied? "Maybe next year". He was extremely disappointed: "I came all the way here to always get the same answer! I came to knock on your door and you also answer me like this. How can you do this to Italians!?". About two months later, a postcard arrived at the Folk Club of Turin directly from Pete Seeger saying: "I can come and play on this date, I'll book three tickets and play for free". And so he did. The venue was swarming with spectators, Pete's concert was fabulous and he liked it so much that he returned a second time. Isn't it a beautiful story?

Francesco Moncalvo and Chiara Pezzella “The Trains Fair”