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DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20240206T190000
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DTSTAMP:20260423T184347
CREATED:20231204T200721Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231204T200721Z
UID:241920-1707246000-1707251400@www.michiganhumanities.org
SUMMARY:The Evolution of African American Traditional Music
DESCRIPTION:This program and accompanying booklet will be part of Monroe County Library System’s 37th annual\nBlack History Month Blues Series. Concerts and related programs are scheduled during February in\nlibraries throughout Monroe County. A main concert is hosted by Monroe County Community College.\nThe series pays tribute to the contributions of African American artists covering a wide range of blues\nand related styles performed mainly by Michigan artists. \n“The Evolution of African American Traditional Music” explores the impact of black music on the\ndevelopment of America’s musical culture over a period of one hundred years. The presentation also\ndemonstrates how this traditional music provides a unique perspective on the development of African\nAmerican culture. The award-winning \, Rev. Robert Jones has a unique talent for blending music and\nstorytelling in his performances. For this program\, he leads participants on a journey revealing how\npre-Civil War Black music still has relevancy for audiences today. Throughout the program\, Rev. Jones\nwill accompany himself on simple instruments used in the folk music tradition including guitar\, banjo\,\nfiddle\, and harmonica. Members of the audience will have pportunities to speak with and join Rev. Jones\nin song. \nThe program opens with an examination of the slave spiritual and its use of rhythm for working as well\nas a means of secretly communicating information vital for daily survival or making escape\nplans. Folktales and stories from the period are discussed as they provided empowerment and\ndignity for enslaved people. Rev. Jones examines music produced to recruit black soldiers into the Union\nArmy with songs like “We Look Like Men of War.” The presentation moves to the 1870s and the\ndevelopment of the concert spiritual at Fisk University where the choir preserved Black\nspirituals while incorporating European church music. Rev. Jones takes participants into the 20th\ncentury with the birth of the blues by W.C. Handy and the early recordings by women like Mamie Smith\nin the 1920s. The presentation continues showing how the spirituals evolved into blues\, gospel\, jazz and\ncountry. Looking at the 1930s\, he shows how blues music told the story of the Great Depression from\nthe perspective of the African American community. The musical journey continues into the 1940s\npointing out how gospel songs like “Roosevelt\,” performed by black artists like Josh White and Billie\nHolliday\, were used as a form of black activism. The program then examines the music of 1950s where\nblack artists like Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup and Sister Rosetta Tharpe laid the foundations of Rock & Roll\nfor both black and white artists such as Chuck Berry\, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley. Rev. Jones brings the\npresentation into the 1960s demonstrating how Blues music transitioned from being a largely acoustic\nmusical style to becoming a dynamic and electric through artists like Muddy Waters\, Howlin’ Wolf\, and\nDetroit’s own John Lee Hooker. Wrapping up\, he discusses how artists like Sam Cooke built on blues and\ngospel traditions to create music that challenged America’s cultural status quo. These “freedom songs”\nof the 1950s and ‘60s helped to fuel the protests during the Civil Rights Movement in cities across\nAmerica. \nRev. Robert Jones is a 35-year veteran of the Detroit blues scene and a nationally recognized scholar of\nAmerican roots music. He hosted a weekly blues program on WDET Detroit Public Radio and taught\nmusic history as an adjunct instructor at Wayne State University. He is published in the music anthology\nHeaven Was Detroit edited by M.L. Liebler for Wayne State University Press. He has also produced\nprograms for The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. He was presented with a Distinguished\nService Award by the Wayne County Council for Arts\, History\, and Humanities and was\nnamed a Kresge Fellow for his work and dedication to the Detroit arts community.\nThe program brings value to the library by reinforcing its goal of providing education as well as\nentertainment through its annual celebration of the contributions of African American artists. While\nparticipating artists give background and context to their music performances\, the library also aims to\nfeature programs that more specifically focus on how the music influences America’s culture\nand reflects its historical times. \nThe series has a large and devoted following with many participants attending since the series began in\n1988. By featuring a humanities component\, participants are reminded of the program’s mission of\nexpanding our knowledge and appreciation for an art form that has often been appropriated by popular\nmusic and not given its rightful credit. The program format allows audience participation through\ndiscussion and adding their voices in songs led by the artist. It’s our intention that participants are\nenergized by the program and motivated to continue their own exploration of blues music. \nFunding for this program was provided by Michigan Humanities – Arts and Humanities Touring Grant. Any views\, findings\, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Michigan Humanities or the aforementioned entities.
URL:https://www.michiganhumanities.org/event/the-evolution-of-african-american-traditional-music/
LOCATION:Monroe County Library System\, 840 S. Roessler St.\, Monroe\, MI\, 48161
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