Came across this on the Black Banjo list:
Quote
Press? ?Release
For more information? write :
Post Office Box 24593, Tempe, AZ 85285-4593
E-mail:? blackbanjogathering@hotmail.com.
? ? ?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE? 9 am Oct. 10, 2004
BLACK BANJO: THEN AND NOW GATHERING
April 7-10, 2005
Appalachian State University, Boone NC
BLACK BANJOISTS TO PICK WITH SOUL
Banjo Lovers and Scholars Bring the Banjo Back Home to Black America
African American banjo players, scholars, lovers of the banjo and of traditional and contemporary African American music and culture will come together from all over the U.S. and beyond at the first Black Banjo Then and Now Gathering at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, April 7th through 10th, 2005.? It will feature lectures, jams, workshops, down home frolics, and performances--four days to meet, mix, and mingle.
The Gathering is sponsored by Black Banjo: Then and Now (BBT&N), an online group founded in March 2004.? BBT&N's four-fold mission is to create awareness that banjo playing today is an outgrowth of the African experience, to bring attention to contemporary Black banjo players who are carrying the tradition into the Twenty-First Century, to celebrate the Banjo's place in African American music and culture, and to highlight the banjo's role in cultural exchange.
Presenters at this historic event include Swedish ethnographer Ulf Jagors on West African relatives of the banjo, instrument maker Pete Ross on how Minstrel banjo playing technique may have influenced folk styles, musician and educator Sule Greg Wilson on rhythm and banjo playing, and Dr. Cecelia Conway on her research on African American banjo players. African American elder musicians and players are expected to attend as well as many other well known players, collectors, preservers, and teachers of the banjo, fiddle, guitar, old time music, and blues.
Africans brought the funky, plunky instrument to the Americas.? Only in the mid 19th century did the banjo become popular among European Americans.? African American banjo playing has continued to this day in traditional, Classic, Jazz, Blues, and folk styles.
This Gathering will play an important role in asserting the African American presence in the world of the banjo and the banjo's central place in Black Musical Culture.
All are welcome.
Black Banjo: Then and Now is grateful for Appalachian State University's generous support for this event.
To arrange interviews and features on the Gathering, for information on Black Banjo Then and Now, or to give support or request information about attending the Gathering, contact us at blackbanjogathering@hotmail.com.