Jake Blount has constructed a profession out of understanding the banjo’s connection to Black American people music. On this video, he walks us by way of the instrument’s historical past — from West Africa to enslaved individuals within the US to the early report trade — to clarify how Black people music has developed.
For instance: The early report trade confined Black musicians to “race information” and white musicians to “hillbilly information.” Hillbilly music would have been early nation and string band music. Race information restricted Black musicians to blues and jazz genres. Which meant Black musicians taking part in bluegrass-style banjo weren’t recorded — even when they had been chargeable for instructing white musicians.
Utilizing area recordings, their very own banjo and fiddle expertise, and a deconstructed model of one in all their very own songs, Blount explains how Black musicians have lengthy been overlooked of the present canon of folklore recordings and American people music historical past. Plus, what he’s doing to maintain the custom alive, with recent observations and a musical model that appears each ahead and backward.
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