By Uncleben
I took on this week's guruing task thinking it can't be that hard to put together two playlists of banjo music. Turned out to be much tougher than I'd bargained for. What follows is most definitely not a 'best of' banjo music or anything approaching a representative sample, but rather my attempt to pick a range of music that shows off the banjo (or, for the first pick, one of its antecedents) in a range of guises. I've tried to avoid too much recycling of the same tropes (mindful of one contributor's warning that a little banjo can go a long way or Mark Twain's quip that a gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo but doesn't!) and to intersperse some classic pieces with some more unusual or unexpected appearances.
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Bassekou
The banjo's musical descent is uncertain, but its likely relatives include the akonting of the Senegal/Gambia region, the ubaw-akwala in what is now Nigeria, the xalam of Senegal, and the ngoni of the Wassalou region at the borders of modern Mali, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. The last of these dates back to at least the 14th century and is thought to have travelled to North America with enslaved members of the Mandé peoples, possibly then evolving into the banjo. Bassekou Kouyate is one of the foremost modern ngoni virtuosos.
Leyla McCalla - Fort Dimanche
In 1997, a curator at a French museum found a gourd covered with an animal skin with an inscription describing it as a banza, another antecedent of the banjo. He went on to discover, in a separate box, the neck of a musical instrument and realised the two pieces fitted together. The instrument he had re-assembled had been brought from Haiti in the 1840s by a French abolitionist. Leyla McCalla, an American folk musician born to Haitian parents, was inspired to write this song after researching the story of Fort Dimanche, a political prison used by the Duvalier regime to interrogate, torture and execute suspected dissidents.
The Sepia Serenaders - Breakin' the Ice
From the minstrel shows and vaudevilles of the late 19th century, the banjo became a prominent feature of the ragtime era and jazz age. Elmer Snowden was one of the leading jazz banjoists of the 1920s and early 1930s and the original leader of the Washingtonians, the group that went on to become Duke Ellington's famous orchestra. Here he's trading licks to fine effect with clarinet, piano and George Gray's vocal refrain.
Flatt and Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Demand for banjos collapsed during the Great Depression, but after World War II the banjo enjoyed a renaissance. Bluegrass musician Earl Scruggs was one of the new pioneers. Foggy Mountain Breakdown is one of his and Lester Flatts's signature tunes and one that's become musically synonymous with car chases. I've probably heard it many times before, but it was only repeated listens this week that made me appreciate the sheer verve and dexterity of the picking.
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck - Spectacle
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck was named after three classical composers (Bartok, Webern and Janáček) admired by his father. The teenage Fleck perhaps confounded parental expectations when, inspired by hearing Earl Scruggs playing the theme tune for The Beverley Hillbillies TV show, he decided to take up the banjo. This is one of the most astonishing of the many pieces by him that were nominated last week, a duet with Chick Corea featuring intricately interwoven banjo and piano lines that feed insatiably off each other's energy.
Old & In the Way - The Hobo Song
Several songs this week featured the winning combination of banjo, mandolin and violin. This was my favourite - an utterly joyous celebration of bluegrass music featuring musicians at the top of their game, from what was the best-selling bluegrass album of all time until overtaken by the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou. Jerry Garcia is yer man on banjo.
John Hartford - Lorena
John Hartford grew up wanting to be a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi but, like Béla Fleck, his life was changed by hearing Earl Scruggs. He was so dedicated to the cause of country music that he turned down the lead role in a TV detective series - and the world is now missing the story of a man who solves crimes by day and plucks banjo by night. He went on to become a leading member of the newgrass movement in the 1970s. This version of an old Civil War era song is an exquisite example of his graceful, controlled playing style.
Eusebio y Su Banjo - Escorpión al Ataque
Eusebio Pérez Campojo was a Peruvian cumbia musician, who (if my online sources are to be trusted) played an 8-string resonator banjo with pickup mounted to the end of the fingerboard, introducing an unexpected new quality to the instrument's sound. An entirely self-taught musician, he moved from the Amazonas region to Lima where he boldly introduced the banjo to Peruvian dance music. Apparently no Peruvian house party in the early 80s would have been complete without his records.
Gustavo Santaolalla - The Last of Us Part II
I like the fact that when composer Gustavo Santaolla was choosing musical instruments to represent different characters in a survival horror video game (The Last of Us Part II), like Tchaikovsky allotting musical themes in Peter and the Wolf, he chose the roncoco and the banjo to represent its two central characters, Ellie and Abby. The soundtrack album blends banjo and electronics to conjure up a post-apocalyptic environment where you get to fight zombie-like creatures.
Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - Raider
Described as an acid sea shanty, Raider features on Henske and Yester's terrific 1971 album, Farewell Aldebran, a heady mix of psychedelia, folk and baroque pop. I initially passed this over before discovering that the bluegrass feel on the track is created by the unexpected concoction of bowed banjo (courtesy of David Lindley) and dulcimer - and I'm now suddenly hearing the song with new ears.
Billy Strings - Dos Banjos
Moving forward to 2016 now and William Lee Apostol, who goes by the name of Billy Strings, here playing clawhammer style as a duo with Billy Failing. Music that's rooted in its rustic, Appalachian folk ancestry but filtered through Apostol's drug-troubled trailer-park childhood and indie rock teenage years.
Tunng - Hustle
Our penultimate number features a more subdued banjo, but it's an unmistakable ingredient in the overall folktronica mix, rubbing shoulders with guitar, piano and electronic sampling in a happy, breezy number that put a smile on my face each time I listened.
Dolly Parton - Travelin' Prayer
We finish with a song that just shoots along on a gust of wild energy, propelled in part by what (to my ears) was some of the most exhilarating banjo picking of the week. It's from Parton's highly acclaimed 1999 album called The Grass Is Blue (do you see what she did there?). And the banjoist is Jim Mills, who was described in one of his obituaries as a force of nature - a fluid, powerful player who, in contrast to his ever-cheerful and relaxed personal demeanour, could be very aggressive on the instrument, breaking strings aplenty. And like so many of the musicians featured this week, utterly immersed in the history of the banjo and its relationship with people, places and traditions.
The Akonting Descendant A-List:
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - Bassekou
Leyla McCalla - Fort Dimanche
The Sepia Serenaders - Breakin' the Ice
Flatt and Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck - Spectacle
Old & In the Way - The Hobo Song
John Hartford - Lorena
Eusebio y Su Banjo - Escorpión al Ataque
Gustavo Santaolalla - The Last of Us Part II
Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - Raider
Billy Strings - Dos Banjos
Tunng - Hustle
Dolly Parton - Travelin' Prayer
The BoPET Membrane B-List:
(Early banjo membranes were made of goat skin; modern forms are typically made of biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate or BoPET for short.)
The Ouse Valley Singles Club - Girl from the Fens
An inspired love song to a woman from the Fenlands in Eastern England.
The Hollies - Stop, Stop, Stop
Tony Hicks played the banjo through tape delay so that it sounded like a balalaika.
Maggie Holland - Black Crow
In keeping with the name of the album (Down to the Bone), a song that's stripped back to the bare simplicity of vocals and banjo.
Olivia Chaney - Bogeyman
Beautiful song with subtle banjo, courtesy of Sam Amidon, adding to its layers.
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Georgie Buck
Part of the band's celebration of the African American string band tradition of North and South Carolina. Rhiannon Giddens on banjo.
Waxahatchee ft M J Lenderman - Right Back to It
Phil Cook on banjo contributing to what Rolling Stone described as a damn good Americana burner full of tender twang.
Prefab Sprout - Cowboy Dreams
A surprise appearance by Eric Weissberg of Duelin' Banjos fame.
Buffalo Springfield - Bluebird
The third section (wait for it!) features a beautiful coda with Charlie Chin on banjo, described by Stephen Stills as the kind of music he started out doing in Greenwich Village in little coffee houses.
Shooglenifty - A Whisky Kiss
A Celtic fusion band that blend Scottish folk music, world influences and electronica and who (according to Wikipedia) count King Charles III and Emperor Akihito among their fans. Band members Garry Finlayson and Ian MacLeod provide the duel-banjo backbone of the piece.
Uncle Tupelo - New Madrid
Among the pioneers of the alt country scene in the late 80s and early 90s. Jeff Tweedy on banjo.
The Longest Johns - Hills of Mexico
Excellent folk group from Bristol, England who first sang together at a friend's barbecue.
Jackie Leven - The Silver in Her Crucifix (Homage to Judee Sill)
A-listed for songs about silver, but definitely worth revisiting. Leon Hunt on banjo.
Ethel Cain - Nettles
A densely layered production featuring both Cain and Dillon Hodges on banjo - and an epic song to close the two playlists.
Guru's Wildcard Pick:
Uncle Dave Macon - Uncle Dave's Beloved Solo
With the honourable exception of Uncle Tupelo, I felt there was a noticeable lack of uncles in the nominations. This is a fabulous recording from 1927, from a banjo player, singer and comedian who's been described as the grandfather of country music.
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Plucked out of Africa: songs featuring the banjo. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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