In this behind-the-scenes documentary, watch the making of "Mama's Cryin' Long" from 'Songs of Our Native Daughters.' It was brought to the album by Rhiannon Giddens (who sings lead vocal on the track) and originally comes from a slave narrative told from the perspective of a child.
'Songs of Our Native Daughters' available on CD, Vinyl LP, and Digital.
Kojiro Umezaki, Wu Man, and Rhiannon Giddens of the Silkroad Ensemble show off their instruments and the rich history behind them. Recorded backstage at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island
Video by SöPa Productions
“Hard Times” and “Camptown Hornpipe” from the Briggs Banjo Instructor (1855), performed on the banjo by Rhiannon Giddens. Filmed in the André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 15, 2018.
#musicalinstruments #art #themet #themetropolitanmuseumofart #museum #banjo #live #liveperformance #RhiannonGiddens
Production support was provided by The Augustine Foundation.
Allison Russell "Quasheba"
Bang on a Can LIVE Online Marathon of Song, June 6, 2021
commissioned by Bang on a Can with funds from The Howard Gilman Foundation
A conversation with Allison and Michael Gordon, David Lang & Julia Wolfe follows the performance.
View all 2020-21 Bang Online Marathon Videos: live.bangonacan.org/livemarathonvideos
The full build of my 18th gourd banjo. This was a commissioned build.
Email me at bengreco2@gmail.com with inquiries.
From 1953, Akron, Ohio resident George Gilmore plays the bones on the weekly TV show Amateur Hour. For those who don't know what's meant by "bones," the word is used to describe the pieces of wood or, yes, sometimes actual bones which are played in a manner that makes them sound somewhat reminiscent of castanets. When played during live performances it's surprising how loud the bones can be; their distinct sound is very much present even when played alongside amplified instruments.
Dom Flemons gives a demonstration on how to play bones using “The American Songster” Jamaican Wood Bones made by Jeff Menzies.
Introduction to Early Banjo History: a survey of the gourd banjo in colonial America
by Clifton Hicks
Sources:
BANJO ROOTS AND BRANCHES
ed. Robert Winans (2018)
AMERICA'S INSTRUMENT: THE BANJO IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Philip Gura and James Bollman (1999)
SINFUL TUNES AND SPIRITUALS: BLACK FOLK MUSIC TO THE CIVIL WAR
Dena Epstein (1977)
BanjoHeritage.com
https://banjoheritage.com
A Great American Tapestry, The Many Strands of Mountain Music is a new documentary on the blended musical tradition that created southern music. Not only a Scots-Irish tradition, the tapestry also includes African-American and Cherokee traditions and more. For more information and to purchase the film DVD, log on to www.saveculture.org
Dom Flemons is a Grammy-award-winning banjo player and co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops who discusses the disappearance of the black banjo and why this history has been forgotten. He is part of the new film on mountain music, A Great American Tapestry, The Many Strands of Mountain Music, with more information at www.saveculture.org