The excitement I felt when I heard the Debbie Deb sample on Kendrick Lamar’s Squabble Up off his new GNX project was overwhelming. It took me right back to being 12 and starting to navigate the treacherous teenage years with the help of music. The first record I remember buying was Fascinated by Company B. I listened to that song over and over and over again. This style of music that was called Freestyle was extremely popular and overlapped with a lot of early hip-hop in those days in California. According to Wikipedia, freestyle music developed in the early 1980s in New York:
I remember my first after school dance in the school gym at Raney Junior High in Corona in 1985. I walked into the school gym and the song “La Dream Team Is In The House” was playing and at that moment the most popular, pretty, and feared girl in school walked in with a level of confidence that I will never forget. She wore thick black eyeliner and a long flowy skirt and tank top. Her bangs were hair sprayed high and the sides of her hair were teased to look like wings, also shellacked with aqua-net. She was walking into the dance while that song was playing and she sang along to the chorus but changed the words to hype herself. “oh yes we’re here, the dream team is here” became “oh yes I’m here, Alice is here.”
Other notable songs that I loved from that genre and time that really exemplified the era include the following, and in certain neighborhood swap meets or backyard parties all across the Southland, these songs still get regular rotation:
I created the main collage art and included it as a free hi-res digital download where you can access it here. (Copyright Sylvia Marina Martinez, 2024. Not for resale, personal use only). If you would like to make a donation to support my work including all my free content on my two main blogs, I very much appreciate it.
I first discovered singer/songwriter, roots fiddler Anne Harris, through her work with trance Blues innovator Otis Taylor, who I had seen play at the Doheny Blues festival more than a decade ago. Anne recorded and toured worldwide for nearly a decade with Otis Taylor. Long time readers of this blog know how central the Blues has been to my musical journey.
Earlier this year GoFundMe’s Heroes spotlighted Anne’s crowdfunding of her historic commission of a handcrafted violin by luthier Amanda Ewing, the first and only female African American violin maker on record in the United States, making this the first professional commission on record of a violin by an African American female luthier for an African American female violinist. The story got quite a bit of press coverage and I was excited to talk to Anne about her roots in roots music and her love of the violin and of our conversation explored many offshoots such as AI and being co-creators, electoral politics, empowering storytelling, and representation.
I did a bit of a search and found that throughout history and spanning cultures worldwide, there are many folktales that feature a magical violin. From Elijah’s violin in the Egyptian Jewish folktale, the Scandinavian Fossegrim to Anansi, the fiddle playing trickster spider traced back to Ghana. It’s fascinating how Anne Harris’s journey into the world of the violin has a serendipitous connection to the beloved movie Fiddler on the Roof.
“I started begging for a violin when I was three and my mother took me to go see the movie version of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. She tells me that I stood up out of my seat in the beginning of the film when Isaac Stern is shown in silhouette playing the overture, pointed to the screen, and shouted, “Mommy that’s what I want to do!”
Born in Ohio, Anne grew up in a loving family in a musical household within a vibrant musical community, and it was not a given that she ended up playing American Roots music as she initially was classically trained and wasn’t exposed to the violin in the context of improvisation and blues/roots music. In popular music seeing Black people playing roots and folk music was a rarity until recently.
“I grew up in a house filled with music, within a community filled with music, within a music-filled world. My dad was an avid vinyl collector, and both of my parents loved music of all genres. Those sounds were the sonic backdrop of my childhood. Blues, Gospel, Classical, Opera, Musical Theater, Folk, Pop, Jazz, Soul, Country, Rock, and much more. The radio, my older sister’s collection, my friend’s music… All of it was foundational to my musical development. And being immersed in such a wide variety of music was a gift for which I’m so deeply grateful. The things that really spoke to me came from different parts of who I was exploring as I grew. I loved Issac Stern because he worked impossible magic with his instrument. I loved Stevie Wonder because of his obvious genius- weaving those incredible tapestries of emotion, with sound, with story. Mahalia Jackson because her voice was a direct conduit to Spirit. I loved the Musical ‘Hair’ for its freedom, (I performed in an amazing version of it produced entirely by me and my friends!), and Musical Theater in general. I loved to dance so Prince, Parliament Funkadelic, Rick James…and many many more of course. But honestly, I never thought specifically about becoming a professional violin player, because although I was in love with the instrument, I was trained Classically, and I never saw myself adhering to that structure. I really loved the freedom that improvisational players had, like guitar players, and since I wasn’t really listening to Bluegrass or Old Time music, it simply never occurred to me that I could take my instrument into contemporary genres. If you don’t SEE it, oftentimes it is really hard to imagine it when you are young. Because most young people begin their musical explorations by imitating what they see that excites them. I never saw a Black person playing Blues or American Roots music growing up, and certainly never a woman.”
Prior to her work with Otis Taylor, Anne was playing and writing American Roots music, and listening to a lot of Irish fiddle and Old Time music, as well as a lot of International music. Blues music was a pivotal turn in her musical journey as it changed her entire approach as a player. Anne was a musical theater major at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, and then moved to Chicago after graduating where she picked up her fiddle again, but this time instead of classical music, she became an improvisational player, and started working in various local indie and cover bands. It was that time that she decided to stop reading music and learn strictly by ear. Though Anne has worked hard to create a style and sound of her own, she credits groundbreaking fiddlers Papa John Creach, Sugarcane Harris, and Stuff Smithin influencing her development.
“These groundbreaking artists encapsulated for me what was possible for the instrument beyond the world of Classical music, or really even beyond Jazz as I was starting to play out in American Roots bands and Rock bands in Chicago. But as far as Jazz players, Regina Carter really snapped my neck as well. Her versatility and soul are astounding.”
Playlist of Anne’s Music as well as a few of her inspirations mentioned above.
“Speaking to systemic racism, certainly speaking to patriarchy, speaking to capitalism in its current form- all of these structures… it’s like this invisible highway of root structures underneath the United States, and from the bottom of the Earth comes this earthquake that’s kind of shaking those roots and creating new pathways for things to grow. And we are the embodiment of that growth potential.” ~Anne Harris
Photo by: Laura Carbone
Collage by: Sylvia Marina Martinez
Another theme in folkloric tales regarding the violin are the creation stories of the violin itself. As referenced in the first paragraph of this blog post and story also features a magical violin origin story here is a video of a talking a little bit more about her and Amanda’s collaboration.
Last night I had the fortune to see Rebirth Brass Band at The Mint in LA (an awesome roots-music venue if you ever are in town). Hot off their Grammy win for their album, Rebirth of New Orleans, it was a sold-out, standing-room only show. People who didn’t have a ticket were waiting outside, hoping to get in, and when I went outside for some air after dancing my tush off, they were still there! It was a raucous, rollin’ good time. At one point I looked out upon the crowd and it seemed no one was standing still. Some folks might not be familiar with the New Orleans style brass bands. This is what Wikipedia says about the history of this very unique sound:
“The tradition of brass bands in New Orleans, Louisiana dates to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Traditionally, New Orleans brass bands could feature various instrumentation, often including trumpets, trombones, saxophones, sousaphones, and percussion. The music played by these groups was often a fusion between European-styled military band music and African folk music brought to the Americas by west African slaves and the idiom played a significant role in the development of traditional jazz…A well-known use of these bands is for the New Orleans jazz funeral…In the 1970s and 1980s, the New Orleans brass band tradition experienced a renaissance, with bands breaking away from traditional stylings and adding elements of funk, hip hop, and bop to their repertoires. Some notable exponents of this style of brass band include Soul Rebels Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, the Stooges Brass Band, the Hot 8 Brass Band, the Lil Rascals Brass Band, Youngblood Brass Band, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.”
It’s interesting because while I was lost in the endless groove, hypnotized by the funk, I heard this drum beat every so often that was so distinct to the rest of the rhythm, like an echo almost, and it reminded me of something ancient and familiar. It then hit me that I heard that sound in Cuban and Puerto Rican son music during the conga solo during an extended jam or descarga. It is so fascinating to try to comprehend and follow the journey of music and of cultures. Anyways, back to the brass bands of NOLA; a lot of these groups have been around over 20 years and are cultural mainstays in the Crescent City.
Here is a clip of Rebirth Brass Band doing one of their hits, “Do Watcha Wanna”:
When I first started this blog, I did for the pure joy of sharing my passion for music, culture, and history. In the past year, I’ve felt joy leave and posting has become more burdensome as I’ve felt pressure to commercialize it in some way. As the blog steamed along, I got more and more solicitations from publicists wanting me to post on their bands. I’ve never taken them up on it but it felt like a bombardment and distracted me from my original purpose. While I don’t begrudge them doing their job, I want to keep it simple, as pure love expressed. So I’m kicking off my own independence weekend by reminiscing about my time in New York City in the 90s, listening to copious amounts of hip-hop, salsa, and reggae. For hip-hop and history lovers like myself, there is a great site that traces song genealogy, called www.whosampled.com. But I have my own version right here for ya!
From the Rakim’s 1997 The 18th Letter double album, here is a great track called “New York (Ya Out There)” produced by the illustrious DJ Premier:
While there are other samples throughout, I call your attention to the first vocal sample by James Brown. Here’s the original song called “Down and Out in New York City” from the 1973 film Black Caesar, to which James Brown did the soundtrack:
Love this. It was from the year I was born. Why do I love funk, rock, and folk from 70s so much? I imagine that it was this perfect combo of gritty rawness and really pretty melodies.
One of my favorite musicians/bands is North Florida’s JJ Grey & Mofro. They were first MOFRO and now they go by JJ Grey & Mofro, but regardless I’ve been following since their first album, Blackwater. My sister played them for me and I fell deeply in love at first sound. I listened to that album on repeat for days and then went out bought my own copy and have bought every album since. I love the band’s vibe, mixing up Southern rock, straight up funk, and a raw groove. It’s just plain sexy.
JJ Grey is more than a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and soulful vocalist. He is a storyteller, a folk philosopher, and a cultural historian. He sings with such passion about the beauty of the simple things in life and his homeland, the country in Northern Florida, on the outskirts of Jacksonsville. If you are a fan of great music, go see them live – you will thank me later.
The title song from their second album, Lochloosa:
Many of JJ’s songs have a mystical quality, interweaving mysterious stories about relationships and people’s lives while connecting with the magic of the natural world. This is “Dewdrops,” from Orange Blossoms:
This past weekend was full of musical and cultural inspiration as I journeyed through the land of my birth, Los Angeles. First up was DJ Moonbaby’s set at the Natural History Museum’s First Friday event near downtown Los Angeles. The DJ booth was set up in front of a replica of giant African elephants across the hall from the giant T-Rex. Moonbaby played her own eclectic mix of electronic groove a la Portishead and then some old school hip hop and funk. One of my favorites (you know I love that funk) was Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby,” a classic late 70s/early 80s funk dance hit complete with the horns. Here’s a performance from the 1982 Grammy Awards show:
After that my friend and I headed west, meandering through downtown LA, Echo Park (the area I spent the first few years of my life), through memories in Hollywood to enjoy a late dinner at Canter’s Deli on Fairfax. This was the spot for grabbing a late night meal after a hard night of dancing or seeing a music show when I was a wild teenager. Their bar, the Kibitz Room, has its own place in the LA music history as many great musicians have jammed there after hours. Guns N Roses were just an unknown band playing there back in the 80s. After all these years, I finally took a closer look at the mural outside of Canter’s depicting the history of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. I happen to be a huge fan of LA murals and this one was quite moving. Here’s one of the scenes:
As we left Canter’s, my friend popped in Chavez Ravine by Ry Cooder, an album that tells a story of one segment of the Chicano community in Los Angeles by chronicling the history of a barrio that was destroyed to make way for Dodger’s Stadium. On this album, Cooder brings together many Mexican-American musicians including some of the guys from Los Lobos and the legendary Chicano musician and activist Lalo Guerrero. Here is one of my favorite tunes by Lalo from this album, “Chuchos Suaves”:
Here is Lalo doing his ode to the blues, “Muy Sabroso Blues”:
My mom and I went out to Malibu on Saturday to spend some time at the beach for mother’s day and we saw pro surfer, Laird Hamilton, when we were having lunch. He is a big wave surfing legend, known for doing what no human does, surfing these mega monster big waves:
Later on that same day, walking through the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, a cacophony of sounds greeted me as dozens of street performers lined the street. A band that really drew me in was a horn ensemble, playing haunting minor chord infused Eastern European folk tunes, the Petrovic Blasting Company:
Los Angeles has much more to offer than my tiny slice of life and I hope to bring you more future posts on the cultural and musical diversity and history of this mega-tropolis. Happy traveling…
Los Angeles native DJ Moonbaby (Angela Jollivette) has been exposing Angelenos to the finest of soul, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and electronic music since she was in grade school hiding her boombox under the desk.
Today she has her own inspirational soul/gospel radio show “Worry Free Wednesdays” on www.churchbeatradio.com, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. (PST). She DJs out and about town and will be headlining the May 7th First Friday event at the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles. If you’re in LA – don’t miss that! She introduced me to several artists including Esperanza Spalding, DJ LadybugMek, and The City Champs. Follow her on twitter: @djmoonbaby!
Rootnotemusic: What experience are you trying to bring to people when you’re DJing? You seem to cross sound boundaries and have a wide range of influences. Please give me a bit of the Moonbaby musical philosophy.
DJ Moonbaby: I just love good music. I don’t care what genre; my roots are deep in soul and jazz but I want to expose my audience to the unknown to expand their musical taste. I love when people come up to me and ask ‘what was that song you were just playing?’ I think I get more excited about being asked that question more than making them dance – because they’re engaged, thinking, and wanting to discover more!
I asked her to give me a sampling of the sounds we might hear on her weekly radio show or if we caught her at a live gig. Here is an exclusive Moonbaby mix starting out with the soul master, Stevie Wonder, with his reggae inspired “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” live from 1980:
Photo by Melanie Martinez (c) 2009 in Austin, Texas.
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