Negro music in America; 10

Negro music and American. Negro music in America. An exploration of it and its impact on American culture. Here is your host for the survey's Tony look at Vox the city of New Orleans exercises a deep and indelible fascination on the American mind best in present it has been the setting or the subject of an amazing number of books. It is as foreign as it is American. The influence of a dozen races in language is apparent in its nobility of architecture its history of violence and love. The faces in the languages of its people. Many authors of New Orleans but have never once heard aging but age was wrinkled beauty and the mystery of their inner being. Perhaps the writers failed because the language they use could not express what they wanted to say. Perhaps a city could have New Orleans in the key to her character lives in a more universal language music.

Not as simple as a Creole Patt trois but compound from dozens of tongues French Italian Spanish Indian to tonic African. From these traditions and cultures came schottische is quadrillions marches street bending cries serenades operatic airs string quartets symphonies work songs African chants funeral parades honky tonk pianos blues and spirituals and him and all of these are fused into New Orleans unique tone or language as developed it mattered not whether into street marches funeral parades Reg dorm or jazz. It is the common tongue of all who live there. No matter how diverse their backgrounds and through it all New Orleans communicated and said to the world things that no other city has ever said. Of all the contributions to New Orleans music to me that of the Nigro is of the greatest importance in his name and desire to express himself musically. He not only I utilized his African heritage and borrowed from European traditions but he created

songs and songs that were born of 300 years of slavery and struggle against the humiliations of a way of life that he had been forced into. If not creole Negro he was most likely to be illiterate non-thought musically self-taught on instruments he improvise endlessly and used his horns as he had used his voices and so he created great art out of the stuff in the ways of his own life. All kinds of nigger music from all over the South found its way into New Orleans and eventually into the magical blend that became jazz. Let's listen to some more unusual types in New Orleans music. Hear from a recording of the 1920s is a jug band personnel unknown playing with a banjo mandolin wood blocks washboard kazoo and Jug. This is typical of street bands as described by Jelly Roll Morton who said they were all called spasm bands that played for anything that they could get in the streets. The famous negro Reg composer Scott Joplin played in bands like this in Texas. Our first number is bottle it up and

go buy the Dallas Jug Band. Almost 40 years later Harry Auster recorded bottle up and go in New Orleans.

It is still a great hit among the Negroes. Here it is as sung by Lucius bridges with blinds knocks on the washboard and Percy Randolph on the harmonica. And thanks. To a. Few. Thank. You and thank you. Thank you. Thank. You and. Thank.

You and. You and. Thanks. To a. Few hours. Wow. Wow. Day of all. That. Musicians do really enjoy playing for themselves without worrying about pleasing the paying

customers. Sometimes this is referred to as back room or back porch music on next is a great example of such music is played by two great New Orleans musicians Albert Nicholas on clarinet baby duds on drums with toadies on the piano and woman brought on the bays. This is a great New Orleans jazz playing here in a really relaxed style Careless Love. The thing. With the. Earth.

And. With the. Earth. With the. Earth. This program must end with having provided you with only three small samples

of the musical sounds of New Orleans next week we will have more of the recorded examples of New Orleans more unusual music from the street vendors and their cries and songs in the street musicians to jazz trios and chord heads into jazz bands of the 1920s and the Mardi Gras parade. Negro music in America with Tony look and Bach presented transcribed by the SEIU Radio Network. As again next week as we continue our exploration of the negro and American music. This program was distributed by national educational radio. This is national educational radio network.