The Banjo: America’s African Instrument

Begin reading this book with the acknowledgements pages (351-355), where you will find the most succinct statement of its thesis: "Banjos have an amazing capacity to bring people together, in laughter and song." The trouble with this thesis is that it is not only too obvious, but that it also applies to all other musical instruments, dance, and song, as well as to many other cultural phenomena, such as games. In the context of the book, it also requires the author, an eminent historian of the Carribean, to speculate about the gathering capacity of the banjo on the basis of very little documentation, forcing him to substitute his thesis for a conclusion–a foregone conclusion. While The Banjo: America's African Instrument does not use the ugly theoretical jargon in which most academics like to dress up their ideas, Dubois's prose is gummy, viscous, making for a slow, tiring read. He prefers "imbrication" to "complexity," "filiation" to "relationship," and because he lacks hard evidence to prove his thesis, he often employs the adjective "evanescent" to lend his speculation a rainbow aura. I tell you, when I came across the phrase "vertiginous sedimentation," I almost put the book down for good. Such absurdities aside, however, Dubois provides a chronological summary of the spread of banjo-like instruments from West Africa to the Caribbean and thence to America. The strength of the book is his academic strength: the history of Haiti. Its weakness is fragmentation due to scarcity of documentation. His chapters often seem quilted together out of patches of articles, as in Chapter 6, "Rings Like Silver, Shines Like Gold," which narrows with minutiae rather than expanding towards generalization. The Banjo: America's African Instrument, as a whole, ends with a chapter summarizing the career of Pete Seeger, as though that highly political public life should speak for itself. The question remains: why is the banjo different from other instruments that create communities? Summarizing the racial tensions of black-face minstrelsy does not penetrate to the explosiveness of the paradox Dubois recognizes: an African instrument has been largely usurped by white musicians. Instead of concluding with Pete Seeger, he would have done better to explore fully the paradox of Bill Monroe and the influence of the blues on bluegrass music, perhaps focusing on the politics of The Grand Ole Opry. There's some really good semiotic analysis in the book, starting with an eighth-century illumination in a commentary on the Apocalypse, in which sixteen saints are depicted playing lutes with extremely large skin heads instead of wooden bodies. But as long as you're analyzing the picture, why not speculate about why medieval Western Europeans failed to take to skin-covered instruments while their descendants in the New World a thousand years later did. Why did the banjo spread south and west, but not north. And while you're at it, say something about the multitude of skin-covered plucked instruments in the east: Iranian tar, Mongolian shang, Chinese sanxian, or Japanese shamisan, to name but a very few. Did these instruments also originate in West Africa? Why do almost all people in the world except Western Europeans groove to the music of instruments covered with sheep, snake, goat, dog, or even cat skin? I am sympathetic to Dubois: he's trying to make a case for an "evanescent" cultural phenomenon, one which we intuitively recognize and understand, but for which historical evidence is thin. He and I own the same brand of handmade banjo, and we both enjoy playing the instrument. I suppose The Banjo: America's African Instrument goes some way toward clearing up confusion about the banjo's origin, but in the end it substitutes a historical summary for a thorough analysis and a truism for a conclusion.

PRO: The Banjo by Laurent Dubois seems to be well researched, and I did learn about the banjo's various incarnations, and artists from West Africa to the latest masters. I never knew that after being developed by slaves, white American marketing sold it as a white man's invention. I salute the parts portraying Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs, Grandpa Jones, etc. It answered some questions and raised others, like any good text book.CON: I think it needs a second edition with more COLOR pictures, maps, & specs. I think I learned more about slavery than about the banjo.I agree that any banjo history medium HAS to talk about slavery, but not to the extent done here. I think at least 1/3 of this book has nothing to do with music. It could be shorter and accomplish the same things.I think there are a few blank spaces here. Substitute some mention of other banjoists (John McEuen, John Hartford) here for some discussions on slavery, which I found repetitious. If you're going to name 2 of the Weavers (Pete Seeger & Lee Hayes, p 282), then name the other 2 (Ronnie Gilbert & Fred Kellerman). I was thoroughly disappointed to think that Cincinnati is on the MISSISSIPPI (not the Ohio) River (p 209. Professor, please tell us that's a typo!).I think the author should better define his use of the word "resonator". On a modern banjo, a resonator is a disk on the back of the body to help project sound forward. If 18th or 19th century banjo players referred to the body as a “resonator”, that should be explained to the modern reader.

I finished Laurent Dubois's "The Banjo - America's African Instrument" yesterday. I have to say, if you're a fan of the banjo, no matter the kind of music played on it or the number of strings, I think this is a must read. It's not heavy in the photo department, so if you like looking at books for the photos (there are some photos, and I think they're valuable), this may not be the book you'll enjoy to the ends of the earth. But if you enjoy some VERY interesting information, covering many centuries, about your favorite instrument. This book is for you. It's full of information, as we move around the world, through many years of history rarely associated with the banjo.I really enjoyed it. It had me thinking about things I don't usually reflect on, and has me respecting the banjo, on it's long long twisted path even more.I give this book five stars.

I just finished this book. It isn't your typical banjo book. There are many good books about the instrument, but none about the cultural context in which the banjo evolved, from a gourd instrument first made by African slaves on Caribbean sugar plantations to the fancy instrument of the bluegrass, old time and folk musicians of today. It's very well written and researched. If you are interested in the history and cultures that gave us the banjo, this is the book you want to read. It covers early African origins, the banjo on the plantations and it's used by enslaved Africans, The Civil War, blackface minstrelsy, the bluegrass banjo, Pete Seeger and the folk revival, and the African American string bands. Good book!

I really enjoyed reading this. The depth of the history of the banjo, and of the slave trade (which goes hand in hand with the history of the banjo) is pretty amazing.My only issue with this book was that when it got to the early 1900s, and talked about artists who had actually recorded their work, I had to stop every couple of minutes to look up someone else, and listen for a while. It made for enjoyable, but very slow, reading.

Not for banjo players or aficionados of the instruments themselves, but a powerful cultural history of the banjo from its African roots to Obama’s inauguration. Strong on issues of race and minstrelsy.

An excellent book for the origins of the banjo, insights into the origins and impact and influence of blackface minstrels and the impact on the slave trade on western music.It also has a whole chapter at the end which is pretty much just about Pete Seeger which was interesting but it seemed narrowly focused on the career of one man when the banjo was experiencing a boom all it's own, that shouldn't take away from a book well worth reading .

Christmas present for my banjo playing friend. I read a review of the book in The New Yorker and it sounded like a perfect present. I have received the book and wrapped it and look forward to seeing my friend read it. I maintain a No Banjo Zone around myself but was glad to find this well researched book to give to someone who enjoys playing.

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