Back from Chicago

I spent the last week at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College in Chicago on a little travel grant to track the Sankey repertory in Jamaica (and to a [much] lesser extent, other Caribbean islands) through field recordings.  I found SO much great stuff, so I got some great material to think through for the next little while.  The CBMR is a wonderful place, everyone there is great and they have all sorts of incredible stuff.  A totally worthwhile trip.

In other news, I posted the following link on Victor Rice’s Facebook wall and thought it might be nice to put it here.  It’s a 1939 film called The Devil’s Daughter that was also released as Pocomania (it was the all-black version of a 1934 film released variously as Love Wanga, Ouanga, and The Crime of Voodoo; the 1939 film is far superior because it actually, you know, entertains).  It is fascinating and includes some great performances (including, in this clip, what is probably the earliest footage of Jamaican hand drumming).  The whole thing is worth watching, so here’s the first segment to get started: