CITYFOLK MONTHLY - October 2005

Virtually all modern African music, even the most pop-oriented hybrids, has deep roots in the traditional styles of music and dance prevalent throughout the continent. From international superstars like Youssou N'Dour to less well known artists like Konono No. 1 (who will visit Dayton on November 13), tradition is always present, shaping the sound and performance in many ways, both subtle and profound.

Take away the quirky, homemade PA system that has grown into an integral part of the sound of Konono No. 1, and what's left is a band playing more-or-less traditional Bazombo trance music from the musicians' ancestral home in the bush country straddling the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The band's unique traditional-meets-electronica synthesis disguises the group's folkloric roots, but they are there.

One of the primary traditional musical instruments native to that area of central Africa is the likembé, a regional variant of the "thumb piano" found in many parts of the continent. Also known by such names as kalimba, ikembe, mbira, sanza, finger harp, gourd piano, and probably dozens of others, the likembé is a simple instrument capable--in the hands of a virtuoso player like Konono founder Mawangu Miniedi--of surprisingly varied and complex sounds.

The likembé consists of several thin strips of metal (anywhere from eight or nine to more than 20) anchored to a wooden sounding board that's attached to a resonator, often made from a gourd. The soundboard usually has a sound hole (or two or three) to enhance the instrument's volume and projection. Likembés are often accessorized with metal bottle caps or bits of shell to produce a kind of buzzing overtone. The strips of metal are angled up over a bridge so that the free ends of the strips are an inch or so over the soundboard.

The instrument is played by plucking the metal strips downward with the thumbs. Advanced players also use the first finger of the right hand to pluck upwards, and really advanced players use other fingers to produce various personalized effects. The sound of a well-played likembé calls to mind both the harp and the marimba. Amplified, likembés can sound remarkably like electric guitars.

The electric guitar is probably the instrument most associated with modern music from central Africa, but acoustic dance bands featuring the likembé were once common, playing alongside the electric bands into the early 1960s. Among the most popular of these acoustic groups was Likembé Géant, a trio of virtuoso likembé players founded in the early 1950s by Antoine Moundanda.

Finally, a note for our readers over forty: most of what you learned in geography class about Africa is no longer true. This should help: like other former colonies in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has gone by a few different names during the past several decades. Prior to gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the country was named Belgian Congo. From the mid-1960s to 1997, its name was Zaire. The Congolese capital Kinshasa was known during colonial days as Leopoldville. And, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not to be confused with its neighbor to the west, the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo/Brazzaville. Now you know.

In early December, Mavis Staples--the Queen of Southern Soul--will return to Dayton to open our new American Roots Series. The last time Cityfolk brought her to Dayton, her Cityfolk Festival performance was cancelled due to weather. This time, she'll lift her glorious voice in song inside the warm and cozy Victoria Theatre.

We think she's pretty amazing, but you don't have to just take our word for it! In the decades since she hit the stage as a young girl, many interviewers have sung her praises. Here are a few.

Ohioans often think that they don't have traditions--other than jokes about Pete Rose, funnel cakes at the state fair, or the "orange barrel season." I guess eating your chili on pasta, which I as an outsider raised in California find weird and distinctive, doesn't count.

Let's talk about this roots thing. Back during the U. S. Bicentennial, Greyhound told people, "Take our Routes to your Roots." Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan pointed out that there's a difference between "roots" and a "sense of place." People who are really rooted don't give a lot of thought to the customary practices that make up their lives; they don't look for their roots. Americans are always searching for "roots" but they can't find them. What they really want is a sense of place, of connection. Traditions are where we connect.

Folklorist Bill Moore created a series of terms for thinking about folk traditions. There are three kinds of traditions: integrated traditions (the rooted ones that we don't think about like Wisconsinites who say "down by der" or "down by Milwaukee"), perceived traditions like baklava or tortillas, and celebrated traditions which are sources of intense pride and identity like Jazz. You have to be careful though not to kill traditions in celebrating tradition, like some interior designers in Minnesota who became so enamored of Southeast Asian quilts for hotel lobbies that they began dictating color schemes to the quilters.

The Ohio Arts Council recognizes and promotes traditional arts through the Ohio Heritage Fellows and the Traditional Arts Apprenticeships. Traditions are often passed down within families or communities for generations and are learned and shared in person. Traditional arts connect the individual with groups and the present with the past.

Tradition is also a part of everyday life. Ohio is rich in tradition ranging from everyday comforts to the exquisite--Ohio traditional arts include wood carving, willow baskets, Appalachian fiddle music, quilts, Tejano love songs, icon painting, clogging, polkas, Polish paper cutting, the Vietnamese dan tranh (17-string zither), and handcrafted mandolins. So we are surrounded by traditions, which provide a tool kit, a lunch box, a source of comfort in difficult times, a sense of place--that we belong, that we have something to hold onto in the flux of modern life.

Folk doesn't mean static--the methods and materials change with cultures, movement, technology, and aesthetics. We can trace these developments in material form, through pottery or metal work, family recipes or knitting patterns. These are part of our living heritage. At the Cityfolk Festival we can talk to craftspeople who work with and in traditions about the relationship between art and tradition.

Folklorists debate whether it is better to say folklore, folk culture, or folklife--which means the traditional aspects of everything we do. It's up to you to take a fresh look and figure out what's traditional or vernacular about everyday life in Ohio.

First, we talk about different kinds of culture: formal culture (that's like chess or what you convey in school in response to the unfunded mandate to leave no child untested); popular culture (typically that's all the stuff that's distributed briefly but dispersed widely); and finally there's the pure stuff of tradition-- folk culture. But how pure is it? Is it 90% proof? How do we know? Innovation and individual creativity are part of the tradition.

PROFILE: Cityfolk Receives CMAcclaim Award

Chamber Music America, the national service organization for the ensemble music profession, has named Cityfolk as a recipient of the CMAcclaim Award, which recognizes individuals or organizations whose achievements in the ensemble music field have had a significant impact on their local community or region. Cityfolk joins Friends of Chamber Music in Kansas City as the first recipients of the new award. Cityfolk was cited for fostering broad interest in jazz, with exceptional accomplishments in jazz education for the communities of Ohio's Miami Valley.

Chamber Music America Chief Executive Officer Margaret Lioi traveled to Dayton to present the award to Cityfolk in front of a packed Victoria Theatre house prior to the October 7th performance of the Pat Metheny Trio. Lioi recognized Cityfolk for its outstanding presenting and educational programs and for its commitment to providing the Miami Valley with access and exposure to the best in traditional arts.

Lioi described the CMAcclaim award as "a McArthur genius grant without the half million dollars," a reference to the fact that, like the genius grants, organizations and individuals cannot apply for the award. The nominating and selection processes are not open to the public, and nominees are chosen from throughout the country by a secret panel. According to Lioi, "Cityfolk and Friends of Chamber Music have enriched the cultural lives of their communities for a generation." "Each was founded through the vision of a single, extraordinary individual, and each has developed into a strong institution and important community partner. Chamber Music America is proud to honor these two organizations."

STAFF PICKS by John Harris

In the 1930s several so-called "brother acts" were popular among fans of what is now called country music. Artists like the Delmore Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, and the Monroe Brothers, developed a style of close harmony singing that is still heard today in American traditional music. Following on the heels of these musical pioneers was one of the greatest and most influential duos ever recorded:, the Louvin Brothers. Their compilation When I Stop Dreaming: The Best of the Louvin Brothers is not only a fascinating look into the evolution of country and bluegrass music, but a treasure trove of great American songs that includes standards like "When I Stop Dreaming," "Cash On The Barrel Head", "If I Could Only Win Your Love", and many others.

While the Louvin Brothers, Charlie and Ira, wrote and performed many gospel standards, including "The Family Who Prays", it was their exploration of a variety of contemporary styles that led to their status as an important link between country music and rock and roll, and a direct line from the Delmore Brothers in the '30s to the Everly Brothers in the '50s. And since their breakup in the early '60s, the Louvin Brothers have influenced a range of artists from Jesse McReynolds to Ricky Skaggs and Emmylou Harris to Merle Haggard, making their music a standard part of the country and bluegrass repertoire and a major influence on many of today's most important writers and performers.

It's hard to overstate the influence of the Louvin Brothers on American popular music, but it is the achingly beautiful harmony singing and great songwriting that make this album a must have for any fan of country or bluegrass music. And, for those interested in a more contemporary approach to the Louvin Brothers, check out Livin', Lovin' and Losin: The Songs of the Louvin Brothers, which features Louvin Brothers classics performed by a wildly diverse group of today's artists, including Alison Krass with James Taylor, Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell, Marty Stuart with Del McCoury, and others.

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