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Banjo

  • 5 days ago
  • 1 min read

Reading for The Banjo From Well Of Souls, Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History by Kristina R. Gaddy (New York: W.W. Norton & Sons 2022) p. 171 Interlude Now, when I look at the watercolor from South Carolina, I see a lineage of traditions extending backwards and forward in time. I imagine Mr. Baptiste, William, Lincoln and George, King Charles and Jackey Quackenboss Hendrina de Parra and all the named and unnamed musicians I’ve come across in my research I hear choruses of voices in minor tonalities, the undulating tones of drums and the melodies of a gourd banjo. I see people dancing calendas, banya preis and Vodou ceremonies. I feel resilience and courage in the face of great oppression. Even though

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