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African banjo Roots

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For those interested in the African roots of the banjo

132 Members, Created 1/27/2011 -

Administrators: Marc Nerenberg (owner)

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From GirlAnachronism on 1/27/2011 9:37:02 PM

Ok so Iprobably don't have to tell any of you about Bela Fleck's AMAZING documentary, "Throw Down Your Heart" exploring exactly this. The music alone was moving, inspiring, and beautiful. I am a big fan of African music and exploring the roots of the banjo was a really interesting discussion.

However, I felt that the movie focused more on the exploration of taking the banjo "back" to Africa and experiencing the culture of community music there, and didn't quite place as much emphasis on exploring the actual evidence for the banjo's origins in Africa as I thought it would. Nevertheless, a worthwhile film.

Has anyone read any books or seen any movies/documentaries regarding the history of the banjo that they would like to recommend?

Why are you interested in the history of the banjo, particularly its African roots?

3 Comments
	trapdoor2 says: 1/28/2011 6:46:54 AM I perform a "History Of The Banjo" set (when called upon) and demo the various historical styles. I'm headed to Suwannee Banjo Camp to learn the Ekonting from Greg Adams. I'll probably build one and then, at least, I'll be able to talk more about the very early styles with some experience to back me up! I did enjoy Bela's doc. He showed it to us at the Nashville Banjo Collectors Gathering.
	GirlAnachronism says: 1/28/2011 12:12:30 PM Can't wait to be able to talk about the early styles! Hoping there are more books/docs out there to explore...
	slc says: 2/4/2011 3:31:54 PM I had mixed reactions to Throw Down Your Heart. I was very moved by the music and people that he visited, but disappointed he showed so little depth about their music - it was mostly about him doing this or that and I wanted more about THEM and what they did. I would especially liked to have seen up-close and more about the Ankoting (sp?) I did buy the CD set 'Fiddling in West Africa' (Amazon) and there are a few great cuts on it - but it's really more scholarly compendium than an entertainment CD. However listening to some of the fiddle music, I really felt like I was hearing the archetypal source for old-time today. Their rhythms could have been sawed out by Tommy Jarrell and they would have fit in perfectly.
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