JUNE 10′

MOUNTAIN MUSIC OF KENTUCKY: COLLECTED BY JOHN COHEN

I Do love the hillbilly sound. In fact, nothing takes me skyward faster than music like this. All direct from the field right to your turntable, this was yet another amazing documentary project by the visionary preservationist saints at Folkways Records. Not only did this LP come awash with some of the most deeply rooted and authentic music from the region as recorded by John Cohen, but the liner notes included his amazing photo essay to accompany the sounds (that’s Roscoe Holcomb and “Daisy” on the cover). Projects like this are invaluable resources for music lovers (not to mention historians, or anyone curious about the extinction of rural American music and cultural threads resulting from industrial creep and greed), and luckily the good people at Smithsonian Folkways continue to make all the original material available at fairly reasonable prices, often with additional tracks, notes, and documents not included in the original releases… nothing like a musty LP to sweeten the experience though. Although the CD release for this contains nearly twice as much recorded material, the tracks on the LP were curated in a way that lends the music a certain cohesion. Mixed with a range of spoken word, a capella, instrumentals, and instruments with vocal accompaniment, this record is largely what you might expect, with the southeastern part of the state’s regional thread (Hazard City, Perry County, KY) offering it its distinct flavor. In addition to the generally unknown performers, we get some narration AND jaw-dropping performances by the now well known Roscoe Holcomb (who, in 1959 when these recordings were made was not nationally recognized, but regionally renown). Some of these songs are so short as to seem like examples of what were probably extended variations during live performances like the one pictured in the above. Roscoe Holcomb: “I’ve played for square dances till the sweat dripped off my elbows. Used a bunch of us get out, maybe go to a party somewhere, ‘n after the party was over, the moon’d be a shinin’ bright, you know, ‘n we’d all start back home ‘n gang up in the road. Somebody’d start his old instrument, guitar or banjer ‘r something ‘r other, ‘n have the awfullest square dance right out in the middle of the highway”.

From the liner notes: “In retrospect, I didn’t go to Kentucky in 1959 with the intention of doing anything significant, and the people I met weren’t thinking of being recorded. I was given to believe that the hills were full of folk song collectors (This turned out to be untrue; actually Alan Lomax was one of the only other people making field recordings that summer). It was an opportunity to look into something which moved me musically. My band, The New Lost City Ramblers was preparing to record an album of songs from the Depression, and this trip was also part of my research. I hoped that the publication of the recording would send the music on and that the people who shared their music with me might be aware of the possible effect they have had on others. - John Cohen.

Folkways Records, FA2317, 1968

Side One:

1. Amazing Grace (Old Baptist Church) (6′26)
2. Foreign Lander (Martha Hall) (0′49)
3. Charlie’s Neat (Granville Bowlin) (0′45)
4. Little Birdie (Willie Chapman) (1′19)
5. Fox Chase (James Crase) (2′25)
6. East Virginia Blues (Roscoe Holcomb) (3′26)
7. The Spring Of ‘65 (J.D. Cornett) (2′28)
8. Death Of The Blue Eagle (George Davis) (1′53)
9. Old Age Pension Blues (Bill Cornett) (1′59)
10. Lost Indian, Soldier’s Joy (Marion Sumner) (0′51)
11. Cotton Eyed Joe, Little Sunshine (Granville Bowlin) (0′40)
12. John Henry (Bill Cornett) (3′58)
13. Jaw Bone (Willie Chapman) (0′54)
14. St. Louis Blues (Lee Sexton) (1′39)

Side Two:

1. Wayfaring Stranger (Roscoe Holcomb) (3′09)
2. Across The Rocky Mountain (Roscoe Holcomb) (3′39)
3. Stingy Woman Blues (Roscoe Holcomb) (1′57)
4. Black Eyed Susie (Roscoe Holcomb) (1′24)
5. I Wish I Were A Single Girl Again (Roscoe Holcomb) (1′53)
6. Young And Tender Ladies (Martha Hall) (0′49)
7. Kitty Alone (Martha Hall) (1′14)
8. Sweet Willie (Bill Cornett) (1′53)
9. Buck Creek Girls (Bill Cornett) (0′59)
10. Cluck Old Hen (Bill Cornett) (1′23)
11. Rocky Island (Corbett Grigsby & Martin Young) (1′56)
12. No Letter In The Mail (Corbett Grigsby & Martin Young) (2′30)
13. Give The Fiddler A Dram (James Crase) (2′10)
14. Old Joe Clark (James Crase) (2′24)

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MOUNTAIN MUSIC PLAYED ON THE AUTOHARP: RECORDED BY MIKE SEEGER

Dovetailing the above, these phenomenally beautiful sounds (recorded by Mike Seeger and published in 1965) encompass another lovely Folkways artifact representing southern mountain songs as played on that “good-natured musical instrument” the autoharp. Ranging from solo to duo autoharp performances (sometimes two people performing two separate harps simultaneously), the tracks also include songs that feature banjo, guitar, and vocal accompaniment (with some help from Wade Ward, Hazel Dickens and Mike Seeger!). All are deep in the tradition and will no doubt lighten your step, with Kenneth Benfield’s version of “Shortnin’ Bread” sure to jump start any day. Advertised as an instrument that “encourages the musical effort of the person who is least musical, and will respond with the harmonious chord to the touch of anybody,” it became widely popular around the latter part of the 19th century, and then fell out of favor at the turn of the century as the result of “many factors including the limitations of the instrument (especially tuning), the slackening of a fad, unwise management, and the advent of the talking machine…” From the liner notes:

“When the autoharp first appeared in the southern mountains the style of playing it varied from simple non-rhythmic strumming of chords to (after a short while) the type of playing by Neriah Benfield and Ernest Stoneman both of whom remember it first from about 1900 to 1905. A later development was the playing of Kenneth Benfield and Kilby Snow. All mountain picking styles closely resemble the style outlined in autoharp self teacher manuals of the 1890’s, that is, accompaniment with thumb and first finger, and picking of tunes with the first finger with occasional chord strums with thumb and first finger.

Folkways Records, FA 2365, 1965

Side One:

1. Stoney’s Waltz (Ernest Stoneman) (2′09)
2. Sweet Marie (Neriah And Kenneth Benfield) (2′02)
3. May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister? (Kilby Snow) (1′38)
4. She’ll Be Coming ‘Round The Mountain (Kilby Snow, Wade Ward) (1′12)
5. Flop-Eared Mule (Kilby Snow) (1′57)
6. Bile ‘Em Cabbage Down (Ernest Stoneman, Mike Seeger) (2′37)
7. All I Got’s Gone (Ernest Stoneman) (2′36)
8. Ella’s Grave (Neriah And Kenneth Benfield) (1′45)
9. Shortenin’ Bread (Kenneth Benfield) (1′16)
10. Old Joe Clark (Kenneth Benfield) (1′27)
11. Waltz (Neriah Benfield) (1′22)
12. Precious Jewel (Kilby Snow) (3′34)
13. Ain’t Going To Work Tomorrow (Kilby Snow) (1′54)

Side Two:

1. Mule Skinner Blues (Kilby Snow) (2′25)
2. John Henry (Kilby Snow) (3′30)
3. Willow Tree (Neriah And Kenneth Benfield) (1′57)
4. Wreck Of Number Nine (Ernest Stoneman) (1′48)
5. Red River Valley (Kilby & Jim Snow) (2′12)
6. Great Reaping Day (Ernest Stoneman) (2′05)
7. I’m Alone, All Alone (Ernest Stoneman, Mike Seeger) (2′48)
8. Jacob’s Ladder (Kenneth Benfield) (1′09)
9. ‘Way Down In The Country (Kenneth Benfield) (0′59)
10. Benfield Hoedown (Kenneth Benfield) (1′10)
11. Wildwood Flower (Kilby Snow, Mike Seeger) (1′23)
12. Tragic Romance (Kilby Snow, Hazel Dickens, Mike Seeger) (1′26)

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THE COUNTRY GIRLS! 1927-1935: 16 RARE BLUES AND BALLADS WITH GUITAR

Here’s another Origin Jazz Library release (originally priced by the record label at $4.98 as printed on the back), this one from 1964 that featured re-issued 78 recordings of folk blues sung by women. Although lots more female performers probably existed than were ever recorded during this period, there are obviously far fewer extant recordings of women than men during this time (in spite of many of the contemporary re-issues and unearthed recordings). Unfortunately for me my LP version doesn’t contain the booklet that originally accompanied the record, which I imagine contained a bunch of information on the women featured. That being the case, I can only say that these songs are amazing hard-knock renditions of the travails and worldly concerns of African American women in the early part of the 20th century, as revealed through the unique realism and enigmatic charm of the rural folk and country blues. You can read about some of the performers at these links: Lottie Kimbrough, Lucille Bogan, Geeshie Wiley, Elvie Thomas, Nellie Florence & Memphis Minnie, and I’m pretty sure this has been re-issued on the Compact Disc format.

Origin Jazz Library, OJL-6, 1964

Side One:

1. Jacksonville Blues (Nellie Florence)
2. Midnight Weeping Blues (Nellie Florence)
3. Little Rock Blues (Pearl Dickson)
4. Where Is My Good Man (Memphis Minnie)
5. Can’t I Do It For You (Memphis Minnie)
6. Shake It Daddy (Mae Glover)
7. Going Away Blues (Lottie Kimbrough)
8. Lost Lover Blues (Lottie Kimbrough)

Side Two:

1. Wayward Girl Blues (Lottie Kimbrough)
2. Rolling Log Blues (Lottie Kimbrough)
3. Pick Poor Robin Clean (Geeshie Wiley)
4. Stranger Blues (Rosie Mae Moore)
5. Careless Love Blues (Lulu Jackson)
6. Dead Drunk Blues (Lillian Miller)
7. I Hate That Train Called The M & O (Lucille Bogen)
8. Motherless Child Blues (Elvie Thomas)

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THE MUSIC OF INDIA: SHARAN RANI SAROD, TABLA ACCOMPANIMENT BY CHATUR LAL

As with “The Country Girls!” LP above, earlier recordings of Indian classical music don’t find many women in the mix either (especially performing solo instruments), so it’s a treat to hear quality recordings like this 1962 World Pacific release that does. Other than it’s rarity, gender is hardly a factor here, as these majestic and powerful renditions are rife with precise intuition and a delicate sensibility, all forged in a playing style that rivals any of the male sarod contributions I’ve heard. The first side is taken up with the midnight raga “Kausi-Kanada”, which is the jewel of the record, while the second side features the first track raga “Lalit” (a morning raga) that features a battery of methodical and rapid-fire picking, with the second track “Tabla Solo”, which is a mind numbingly complex tala entitled “Pancham Savari”. This particular solo, masterfully constructed by Chatur Lal, consists of fifteen beats that subdivide into the grouping 2-4-4-2-1.5-1.5. “One particularly intricate cross-rhythm, wherein a pattern of ten beats is fitted within the tala of fifteen beats, is counted out for the benefit of those who are perhaps still unaware that the Indian tala system represents the most complex and diversified organization of rhythm of any musical system in the world.” Also appearing is Robert Garfias on the Tambura. From the liner notes:

“Sharon Rani is unusual in being the only ranking female performer of the most powerful of Indian stringed instruments, the sarod. Her teachers have been the revered Allauddin Khan, who has taught nearly all of the best known instrumentalists in North India, and his son, Ali Akbar Khan, a leading performer known here through his tours and recordings. This recording was made on November 21st, 1961, in San Francisco.”

World-Pacific Records 1418, 1962

Side One:

1. Raga Kausi-Kanada (18′57)

Side Two:

1. Raga Lalit (11′13)
2. Tabla Solo (9′36)

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NECTAR OF THE MOON: VICHITRA VINA MUSIC OF NORTHERN INDIA

This LP is so deep in the groove I can hardly stand it, and if any lives up to it’s title it’s this one. The rare and blissed out sounds of the vichitra vina (sometimes called batta bin) are deftly massaged into a state of cosmic bliss by Dr. Lalmani Misra (featuring Ishwar Lal Misra on tabla, and Carolyn Y. Tewari on Tambura). These tracks were recorded in 1976 at a place called The Church Studio in San Anselmo, California, and are high quality recordings of rock solid performances. Soulful drones and slide-style notation drip celestial honey effortlessly down the dark side of the connoisseur’s moon. From the liner notes:

“”Raga Ananda Bhairava” - Short alap, slow and fast gat in tala teental (16 beats, divided 4-4-4-4). Alap is the gradual unfolding of the raga, through slow melodic improvisation, which creates an atmosphere in which the listener can experience the appropriate mood. A gat is an instrumental composition in a fixed hythmeic cycle. Ananda Bhairava is a morning raga with a peaceful, tender mood, epxressing the feelings of a gentle person, full of devotion at early dawn. This raga is a combination of ragas Bhairava and Bilawala.

“Raga Multani” - Short alap, and gat in tala ektal (12 beats, divided 2-2-2-2-2-2). Multani, and afternoon raga, expresses the mood of new lovers and has the character of a young woman, possessed with love but maintaining her dignity.

“Dhun In Raga Ananda Bhairavi” - A beautiful melody composed by Dr. Misra in tala dadra (6 beats, divided 2-3). Dhun means ‘melody’ and usually is based on folk or classical music or some combination of the two. The artist returns to the main theme over and over and improvises freely, creating a beautiful mood by using different ragas to embellish the main theme. The practice of plying a dhun at the end of a performance is recent and is related to the rising popularity of an instrumental style distinctly different from the traditional vocal style.”

Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records, H-72086, 1981

Side One:

1. Raga Ananda Bhairava (20′04)

Side Two:

1. Raga Multani (12′16)
2. Dhun In Raga Ananda Bhairavi (7′54)

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THE ANTHOLOGY OF INDIAN MUSIC, VOLUME ONE

Some folks can’t get enough of this stuff, so here’s a three LP box-set set published in 1967 that highlighted a sampling of both northern and southern traditions, and was designed to serve as a sampler plate for the serious Western enthusiast. The box set contained an LP-sized 18 page booklet by Dr. Narayana Menon, and featured color photographs and writings that traced the tradition from it’s mythical sources to it’s contemporary forms ala the late 60’s. Featured performers were Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Balachander, with a host of supporting musicians that included Alla Rakha, Shankar Ghosh, Kanai Dutta, Janardan Abhyankar, Ramani, Arjun Shejwal, Ramabhadran, and Sivaraman. Dr. Menon did a nice job condensing all the historical information into a consumable booklet, while the performances created exclusively for the release were all exemplary studio recordings. Credit should go to the folks at World Pacific Records for assembling such an educational and beautifully packaged resource. From a 1969 review in the “Ethnomusicology” journal:

“Although we are fortunate to have longplay recordings, the various items presented are still comparatively short. In no way do they replace live performances, where the soloist can continue his performance as long as he pleases. While we appreciate the valuable anthology, may we add the hope that one day such great artists as Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Balachander, and others would present us with a large number of recordings of the really great ragas such as Kalyan, Bilaval, Khamaj, Purvi, Marva, Todi, Basant, Sri-raga, some of the Mallar group, or Multani, Kedar, Hamir, and many others. We have to admit that even ’smaller’ rags are turned into masterpieces by the performers mentioned, but a large collection of the great ragas would have that much more value.” - Walter Kaufman, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

World Pacific Records, WDS-26200, 1967

Side One:

1. Raga Jai-Jawanti (Ravi Shankar sitar, Alla Rakha tabla, Kamala tamboura) (24:10)

Side Two:

1. Raga Basant Mookhari (Ali Akbar Khan sarod, Shankar Ghosh tabla, Miss Sheela Mookerjee tamboura) (23:13)
* This raga is broken into two tracks on the LP, so two tracks appear in the download, even though the raga is only titled as one track on the album.

Side Three:

1. Ninnu Vinagamari (Balachander veena, Sivaraman Mridangam) (17:12)
2. Samajavagamana (Ramani flute, Ramabhadran Mridangam) (8:18)

Side Four:

1. Tabla Tarang (Janardan Abhyankar tabla tarang, Arjun Shejwal pakhawaj) (2:53)
2. Pakhawaj and Tabla (Alla Rakha pakhawaj and tabla, A. Das Gupta sitar, Ray Sussman tamboura (5:09)
3. Tabla (Alla Rakha pakhawaj and tabla, A. Das Gupta sitar, Ray Sussman tamboura) (6:07)
4. Tabla (Kanai Dutta tabla, N. C. Mullick tamboura)

Side Five:

1. A History And Appreciation Of Indian Music With Appropriate Musical Examples - As presented by Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Indian Music, Los Angeles

Side Six:

1. A History And Appreciation Of Indian Music With Appropriate Musical Examples - As presented by Ravi Shankar at the Kinnara School of Indian Music, Los Angeles

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KATHAKALI: THE MUSIC OF KATHAKALI - THE DANCE DRAMA OF KERALA

If you’re familiar with and enjoy Southern Indian vocal music, then this record should appeal, but may also be a little disorienting in that its sound reveals a less documented facet of Southern Indian music and art. Kathakali is primarily an archaic form of theater and dance set to singing and rhythm, with this LP highlighting a small section of the contemporary variation. What were historically up to three-day long events are now condensed versions that draw directly from the traditional format, rarely lasting three hours. There are some slight similarities to Balinese and Javanese Gamelan in the ways dancers move in parity with the singing and percussion, but also in the epic and emotive narrative-style of the performances. What’s most appealing about the music is the singing, which although seemingly less refined than the direct classical tradition, offers an interesting window into a rare and fascinating cultural tradition. Colorful and visually stunning, the actors are replete with elaborate makeup and costumes, something like if the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were trapped in Krishna’s lure, grooving to Vedic myths instead of campy covers.