ROOTNOTEMUSIC BLOG

Author: Sylvia Marina Martinez

I Live for the Funk: James Brown, The Meters, & Curtis Mayfield
James Brown, born in 1933 in South Carolina, came from an extremely difficult and tragic childhood. From those circumstances, with his gift of music, starting out as part of a gospel group, he rose to become one of the most influential musicians in the world.

With his band the JBs, some of the most highly skilled musicians around, James Brown, The Meters, and other pioneers of funk are the ancestors of modern-day hip hop, 70s Soul and Disco, 80s & 90s bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus, to jam bands of today such as Medeski Martin & Wood, Soulive, and Galactic.

James Brown put out a series of instrumental funk albums in the 60s where he showcases his skills on the keyboards. This track is from a rare 1969 album The Popcorn (not to be confused with Mother Popcorn) released on Polydor. “Why (Am I Treated So Bad)”:

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03/21/2010
“Llanero, si soy llanero”: music from the plains of Colombia
“Colombia is unknown territory, a land of myths, beautiful rainforests, mountains and beaches , lovely cities, and enchanting and happy people. Colombia is one of the world’s most exotic, sensual, wild, complex and fascinating countries.” ~From the website Ballet Folkloric Juvenil Colombiano

When living in Washington DC a few years ago, I attended Smithsonian Folklife Festival and was introduced to some amazing music from Orinoco plains of Eastern Colombia. As I mentioned in my post on K’Naan of Somalia, I said I would be doing some posts about the music of countries on the U.S. State department’s travel advisory list, which includes Colombia.

The land of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia is a diverse, magical land with a rich musical tapestry. When Colombia is in the news, it’s all about drug cartels, kidnappings, civil war, and guerrilla warfare. But not here at rootnotemusic.com! Instead I’m bringing you salsa, cumbia, vallenato, porro, champeta, puya, gaita corrida, and bullerengue!

More on those styles in later posts ~ today I’m keeping with my cowboy theme and featuring music from the cattle herders of the Eastern Plains of Colombia, música llanera! According to wikipedia: “música llanera is a harp-led genre of music from Los Llanos popular throughout Colombia. It includes the traditional joropo musical style, and is known for verbal contests called contrapunteo.” I should point out that música llanera is also very popular in Venezuela as the two countries share Los Llanos (The Plains).

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03/17/2010
Cowboy yodels & música ranchera: from Gene Autry to Javier Solis
My Grandpa George was a native of a tiny town in the American Southwest ~ Guadalupe, New Mexico. Proud Mexican-Americans, they rode horses, manned ranches and herded cattle. His aunt Juanita was the wife of the famous old west sheriff, Pat Garrett. I’ve written about my Honduran father’s side of the family in the post, nueva cancion y trovadores. On my mom’s side, we have deep Southwestern roots. My grandpa rode the rails from New Mexico to California during the depression where he met my grandmother, who had immigrated here as a baby from Durango, Mexico. Grandpa loved American Cowboy music and Mexican ranchera (cowboy) music. My mom still loves the “singing cowboy” tradition. Here she is in her “Gene Autry” cowboy outfit circa early 1950s.

I recently gave my mom the three-disc box set: Boots, Buckles & Spurs: 50 Songs Celebrate 50 Years of Cowboy Tradition. It includes vintage songs from Gene Autry, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, Johnny Cash as well as more modern cowboy tunes from Marty Robbins, Waylon Jennings, Moe Bandy, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, The Outlaws, Brooks & Dunn, Michael Martin Murphey, and many more.

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02/27/2010
Somalia: K’Naan, Magool, & the meanest streets in the universe
“The people of Somalia just do not have a voice….They are to me the most forgotten people in the world.” ~ K’Naan

In ancient times Somalia was a land of riches, the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, highly valuable trade in those days. Today Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world after decades of civil war, warlords, poverty, and international neglect. After my post on Haiti, I became really interested in the countries listed on the US Department of State’s travel warning website. I felt strongly that I must be a voice that highlights the beauty, strength and culture via music of these countries to be a counterpoint to the mainstream media coverage that mainly focuses on violence, terrorism, and wretched misery. This will be my first of many future posts exploring the music of the countries on the travel warning list. May we not forget our brothers and sisters living in these lands who need our support and love.

K’Naan is a Somali born (now living in Canada) rapper from the capital city of Mogadishu, dubbed “the most dangerous city on earth” or as he calls it “the meanest streets in the universe.” I have to give a shout out to my brother Troy for introducing me to this extraordinary voice. K’Naan’s second album, Troubadour, came out last year with major label distribution and to critical acclaim. His first album’s title is poetry to my ear, The Dusty Foot Philosopher. I love that. K’Naan’s music features traditional and roots oriented sounds, whether its his use of poetry, traditional instrumentation, rapping in the Somalian language, or incorporating various African styles including Ethiopian jazz.

“America” off of Troubadour features K’Naan rapping in Somalian and Ethio-jazz influences:

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02/21/2010
Louisiana gumbo: Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole
“Louisiana, Louisiana; It’s beauty’s always aglow.
Moss covered shade trees; Sway in the cool breeze
While lazy bayous flow.” ~ Louisiana state song
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Cedric Watson
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Bon jour/Bon soir! Since the Saints won the Superbowl and Mardi Gras is around the corner, I thought I’d throw some musical gumbo in the mix! Music Voyager, a new PBS show, recently showcased Louisiana musicians nominated for this year’s Grammy Awards in the Best Zydeco/Cajun category. You can follow host Jacob Edgar on his website, www.musicvoyager.com. Other shows include music of India, Jamaica, and another visit to Louisiana. Very cool! A show after my own heart.

Nominated for a Grammy this year, Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole is one of my new favorite bands. In this clip from Music Voyager, he describes their music as a “gumbo” of Creole, Cajun, and Zydeco music. Check them out on the “Road to a Grammy” episode:

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02/12/2010
To Haiti With Love: Racine, Kompa, Twoubadou, & Jazz
My heart, like yours, broke seeing the tragic images and trying to comprehend the magnitude of the loss and suffering of the Haitian Earthquake of 2010 (see links below for how to help). Aside from the troubled history that keeps being repeated in the media, there is a richness and strength of culture and spirit that resides in the heart of the first independent black nation in the Western Hemisphere (which inspired independence movements throughout Latin America). May that culture continue to bring Haiti resilience and hope during what will be a long healing and recovering time to come. My late father (himself born of the other poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Honduras) use to say, it is the meek who will inherit the earth “through the poem and a song…”

Image Source

Famed ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who visited Haiti in 1937 to record folk music, had this to say about the island nation: “I have looked about enough to be sure this is the richest field I have ever worked in.” The following samples are a tiny fraction:

RACINE or RASIN is known as the folk music of Haiti. Here is master drummer Lenor “Azor” Fortuné of Haiti demonstrating racine music.

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01/24/2010
Goodbye Lhasa: this space had become too small
I was so sad to find out that singer/artist Lhasa de Sela passed away on January 1, 2010 at the young age of 37 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. I first fell in love with her when I heard her song, “De Cara A La Pared”. I listened to that song on repeat for months on end and to this day it remains one of my all time favorite songs. She had an unusual upbringing and life right out of a surreal novel. Raised on a traveling bus with her parents, singing in cafes at 13 years old; she was very much a troubadour in the purest sense of the word. She left unrealized a plan to record an album featuring the songs of Victor Jara and Violetta Para, singers of the Nueva Cancion movement. See her website for more about Lhasa’s life and projects.

I had the privilege of seeing her live ~ she had a way of telling stories before each song that created a sense of magical mysticism about life. One particular haunting explanation of a song, especially poignant after learning of her passing, was about when you’re a baby, you’re in this small space and you see a tiny light…as you grow and grow the space gets smaller but the light gets bigger and soon this space will be too small…as you are born, the world is so big, but as you grow and grow, soon this space will be small….

Here is my favorite Lhasa De Sela song, “De Cara A La Pared”:

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01/09/2010