The Banjo: America's African Instrument, by Laurent Dubois

[Mike Baker]

I just ordered a copy of this book and will post more once I have read it, but until then, has anyone else had a chance to read this? Seems like a good topic for discussion in this section of the forum.

[Stuart Elliott]

I haven't read it yet, but it looks like a very important book not only for banjo enthusiasts, but also for everyone interested in American music.

Here's Harvard Univ Press page on the book


Bluegrass Today interview with Dubois

On WUNC’s The State of Things, listen to Laurent Dubois discuss the African roots of quintessentially American banjo music, and listen to musician Joe Newberry play some tunes


I'm also interested in Hidden in the Mix: the African American Presence in Country Music

[DoctorB]

Ordering!

[Mike Baker]

I took this book on vacation back in May but only got little bit read. Summer got pretty hectic after that, but I picked it back up the other day and at least finshed the last few pages of chapter one. I will make a point of finishing the book before summer is over (this was the top of my summer reading list but sadly work related reading has bumped it), but I just wanted to post about chapter 1. An amazing account of the banjo's 'ancestors' going back to the earliest music made in the ancient near east and Africa, and a very interesting discussion of banjo-like instruments and their players, and the earliest interactions between western music and music from the middle east and Africa. I won't look at (or hear) my banjo the same way again after reading this. Anyway, maybe I will post again after each chapter, as this book is so rich that I suspect it will be hard to keep it all in my head if I wait to the end.

[Banjo Cafe]

Some info about the book we posted in a news release back on March 2.

The Banjo: America's African Instrument