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Africa in the Americas

Africa--her people, musical ideas, instruments, spirituality, languages--lives on in the Americas. This audio stream celebrates Africa's roots and branches in New York, the American South, Cuba, and South America.

African Roots Of Rock and Roll

Where did America's most popular beats and sounds come from? We asked the brilliant, late author Robert Palmer ("Deep Blues") to share his research with us. From the Bo Diddley beat, to the Cuban connection to Pygmy vocal styles, get ready for some mind-blowing revelations.

Program Log:
Introduction to the Cuban connection.
Discussion of classic Cuban bass line.
The New Orleans-Havana connection.
The cha cha cha and 1950s R&B hits.
Senegambian slaves as string players in southern plantation society.
The crossroads in Robert Johnson's repertoire and Yoruba cosmology. Yoruba focus on drum music, preserved ingeniously as the ring shout when American slaves were prohibited to play drums. The hambone and patting juba. Fife and drum music in North Mississippi.
Slave trade shifts from West Africa to Congo. The pygmy octave jumping, whooping vocal style and vocal styles in southern U.S.
Vocal styles and harmonica.

Africa in Venezuela

We travel all over this diverse country-from the capital Caracas, to villages on the Caribbean coast, to the high plains to hear groups such as Los Vasollos del Sol, Un Solo Pueblo, Huracan de Fuego, Tambor Urbano and others.

Program Credits:
Host: Georges Collinet
Field Research & Co-Producer: Dan Rosenberg
Co-Producer & Series Producer: Sean Barlow
Mix Engineer: Michael Jones

Program Log:
Georges introduces the diversity of Venezuela--the land, people, music.
Introduction of group Un Solo Pueblo. Interview w/group member about Venezuelan calypso.
Heading west from Caracas for "music of the plains" where you find local instruments--cuatro, bandola, harp.
Gaita rhythm from northwestern Venezuela.
Bus trip to villages on Caribbean coast, home to many Afro-Venezuelans. Story of the San Juan Festival and music.
Story of the annual devil dance festival. Scene changes to eastern region of Barlovento where locals trace their mina drum to Ghana. Song by Tambor Urbano featuring mina drum. Song by Los Vasallos.

African American String Bands

Fiddle and banjo are usually associated with old timey white music. But for centuries in America, before recordings were made, these instruments were played by African Americans. And there was a lot more mixing of white and black musicians than you might expect. Our guide for the program is the now late multi-instrumentalist, Howard Armstrong, 91-years old when this program first aired.

Program Log:
Introduction
Featured guest artist, 91 year old Howard Armstrong, talks about the origins of banjo, violin, and guitar in Africa. The African one stringed violin (called njarka and other names) and the black fiddler tradition in America.
Howard Armstrong talks about the history of slaves who were musicians and got special privileges. Black and white American musicians learn each others repertoires and sounds.
Howard Armstrong live.
White minstrel shows imitate black musicians.
Fast forward to modern times. Malian string wizards collaborating with American musicians.
Taj Mahal talks about Malian ngoni player's concert in Tennessee.
Howard Armstrong talks about playing blues in front of white audiences.
Howard Armstrong talks about playing blues in front of white audiences.