Rhiannon Giddens has a passion for the banjo. Not so much the banjo heard on bluegrass recordings, but the old-time claw hammer style. Together with Justin Robinson on fiddle, they explored the roots of African American music with the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Their love of this music and its cultural roots has led to a new duo recording, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow.
The 18 songs all have their roots in the soil of North Carolina, largely learned from their late mentor, Joe Thompson, while another influence comes from listening to the recordings of Etta Baker. Thompson especially became a guiding light in their mission to keep the legacy of Black string band music alive. Some of the recordings in this collection come from sessions played outside at Thompson’s Morgantown, North Carolina home on his own fiddles.
Using a remarkably simple setup, the two (who were occasionally joined by Justin Harrington on bones) recorded live, capturing magical moments including two different sets of cicadas tracked live from Thompson and Baker’s North Carolina homes. These two Grammy winners keep traditions alive, leading to moments as buoyant as any you are likely to hear. Old forms spring to life in the hands of Giddens and Robinson. From blues to hillbilly jigs, this is music designed to get you moving. Many of these songs date back to a time before the Civil War, they are history brought to life, but more importantly they are a link to times that seem all too relevant in today’s disturbing political climate.
Sitting face to face, singing into acoustic microphones, they recapture the essential nature of songs like ‘Pumpkin Pie’ and ‘Duck’s Eyeball’. Robinson’s fiddle seems to be danger of catching on fire while Gidden’s keeps up the spritely rhythms. This is music for the sake of it, rather than being an attempt to cash-in on the latest trend. As Giddens points out, “It really shows how American culture came to be. And it’s one of the clearest examples of that, which is why the suppression of its true history has been so important to confront.”
From the stately ‘Country Waltz’ to the guitar and banjo duet of ‘Marching Jaybird’, these songs are an essential part of American history. Rather than being played in a different fashion they are essentially played straight, illustrating the importance of keeping American history alive. It is anything but dated in the hands of Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson. What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow frames the history of a culture that should never be extinguished.
English
العربية
Nederlands
English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
日本語
한국어
Русский
Español
Svenska
Türkçe
اردو
Tiếng Việt
