Newsletter : November 2008

The Principles of Phonautography
"Is there a possibility of reaching in the case of sound a result analogous to that attained at present for light by photographic processes? Can one hope that the day is near when the musical phrase, escaped from the singer’s lips, will be written by itself and as if without the musician’s knowledge on a docile paper and leave an imperishable trace of those fugitive melodies which the memory no longer finds when it seeks them? Will one be able to preserve for the future generation some features of the diction of one of those eminent actors, those grand artists who die without leaving behind them the faintest trace of their genius?

I believe so. The principle is found. Nothing more remains but difficulties of application, undoubtedly great but not insurmountable in the current state of the physical and mechanical arts. At present the rudimentary apparatus which I will describe can furnish data useful for the progress of all branches of the natural sciences." — M. Edouard-Léon Scott, January 26, 1857

A Century Later
In 1956, Art Rosenbaum traveled to Hamilton, Ohio and spent time with Pete Steele and his wife Lillie. Pete was a banjo player of legendary proportions having made recordings for Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in March of 1938. Hailing from Kentucky, Pete had grown up making music with his father on fiddle, but for his recording session with Art and his friend Ed Kahn he would play banjo accompanied by only his voice.

Rosenbaum was a young folk revivalist seeking original source material to record for the purpose of learning songs from traditional musicians. One of the songs he recorded by Steele was "Last Payday at Coal Creek." Looking back, Rosenbaum considers Steele’s soaring, ornamented, and bluesy vocal line, which rides above his raking up-picking on the banjo, a high point of mountain singing to banjo.

Art of Field Recording Volume II: 50 Years of Traditional American Music Documented by Art Rosenbaum
DTD-12 / Four CDs / 96 Page Book
In Stock: December 2008
In Stores: January 2009
Over the past year Art, his wife Margo, my wife April and I have been amazed at the reaction to Art of Field Recording Volume I. So many people have conveyed their appreciation and utter joy for the four CD compilation. I think what makes the set so special is the passion and love for the music and musicians that the Rosenbaums demonstrate. Art's conversations that can be heard before and after some of the songs; his detailed paintings capturing the music in an abstract form; his liner notes that recall the moments in which the recordings were made; and Margo's photographs that reveal the concrete reality in which the sessions were set come together and showcase traditional music in a way that has never before been seen or heard.

It is a great honor for Dust-to-Digital to present Art of Field Recording Volume II this December. Similar to Volume I, Volume II is a four disc set with a 96 page book that contains essays and annotations by Art and more than 100 illustrations and photographs by Art and Margo. New for Volume II is an eight page gallery of color reproductions in the back of the book to better display some of the paintings and photographs. Art took a similar approach to Volume I in assembling the music: the discs are divided into Accompanied Songs and Ballads, Unaccompanied Songs and Ballads, Religious, and Survey.

What Our Friends Have Been Up To
Pure Country: The Leon Kagarise Archives, 1961-1971 is a new book featuring photographs taken by Leon Kagarise with text by Eddie Dean, the writer of the liner notes for Fonotone Records 1956-1969. A release party is slated for December 10 at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York with a performance by the First Lady of Banjo Roni Stoneman (with sister Donna in the photograph) and a slideshow by Eddie.

Nathan Salsburg, production manager for the Alan Lomax Archive and author of the foreword to Art of Field Recording Volume II, has launched a vernacular music imprint called Twos & Fews in collaboration with the Drag City label in Chicago. The label's first album is by coal miner, union activist, and traditional singer Nimrod Workman and is entitled I Want to Go Where Things Are Beautiful.

Rob Millis, part of the team behind Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days, made trips to Asia and South America this year. Click here to read about his encounters in India while visiting several 78 rpm record collectors, and click here for some images from the journey. For images from his travels to Buenos Aires in search for 78s, click here. Finally, for those that did not get enough 78-rpm-era images in Victrola Favorites, Rob has started a blog for posting new discoveries.

Ian Nagoski, ethnomusicologist and compiler of Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics, spent the summer travelling throughout Europe and the USA giving lectures on early 20th century ethnic recordings. We share Ian's excitement for the upcoming Kronos Quartet performance of Smyrneiko Minore, which appears on the Black Mirror compilation.The quartet's arrangement of Marika Papagika's incredible 1918 recording will be premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 5th. Also, Ian will be spinning 78s on WFMU's Mudd Up with DJ Rupture on November 26th.

Matt and Erica Hinton, producers of the documentary film Awake My Soul and co-producers of I Belong to this Band: 85 Years of Sacred Harp Recordings, have put together a unique double CD. Whereas I Belong to this Band served as a companion CD to their film, Help Me to Sing provides an introduction to the songs of The Sacred Harp and attempts to make the songs accessible for a new audience. The first disc is a soundtrack to their film with incredible modern-day recordings of Sacred Harp singings, while the second disc features musicians outside the Sacred Harp tradition putting their take on Sacred Harp standards. The list of artists that contributed to the project include John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Rayna Gellert of Uncle Earl, Murry Hammond of Old 97s, Doc Watson, Elvis Perkins, Jim Lauderdale, and Danielson. Awake My Soul, I Belong to this Band and Help Me to Sing are available for purchase via the Dust-to-Digital online store.

Final Notes
Remembrances
Cora Mae Bryant, talented blues musician and daughter of Georgia guitar legend Curley Weaver, passed away from natural causes on the morning of October 30, 2008. Born on May 1, 1926, Cora Mae was a tremendous resource to many blues researchers including Bruce Bastin and Pete Lowry. When I visited her earlier this year, she told me stories about playing fish frys and picnics with her dad, and she recalled a house party in Atlanta when she was 16 years old. The musicians at the house party were Curley Weaver, Blind Willie McTell and Washboard Sam. She lived an incredible life and will be missed.

Joseph Partridge passed away on Sunday, November 2, 2008. Among his many contributions to Chattanooga, Tennessee was the construction and operation of Lamar’s Restaurant and Lounge. He was very gracious to us when we used the space for the first Goodbye, Babylon release party in 2003 and in 2006 for the Great Southern Old Time Music Convention.

Radio
In 2008, Dust-to-Digital entered its fourth year of sponsoring Joe Bussard's Country Classics radio show on WREK. Airing at 5:00pm every Friday, each week's show can be heard any time via WREK's audio archive. Here is the show that aired on November 14th:


Art Rosenbaum has a new radio show on WMLB called Banjos and Backroads. The show airs on Wednesdays at 8:40am, 1:20pm, and 6:40pm and can be streamed online. Here is the feature Art put together on Indianapolis blues:


Awards
Dust-to-Digital was nominated this past year for two ARSC Awards and a Jazz Journalists Association Award. The label won two Living Blues Awards: one for Best Historical Reissue for the Desperate Man Blues soundtrack and one for Lance Ledbetter for Historical Producer of the Year. Everyone at the label is very grateful for these recognitions.

Blogs
The Dust-to-Digital blog has a new home on DTD's main website. We have also started a blog called Earth Is No Resting Place in an attempt to gather news and reviews that focus on music, film, and lifestyle of a bygone era.

Release Dates, Release Parties and Future Projects
We will be sending another e-newsletter in December notifying everyone when Art of Field Recording Volume II becomes available. We should have the release in time to send out before the Christmas deadline, but we are not able to make any promises at this moment. We will also announce release parties for 2009, and we will have more information and updates regarding Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography 1890-1950, I Used to Call Her Baby: Songs of Love, Lust and Discontent, John Fahey: The Fonotone Years, and our first vinyl release Au Clair de la Lune: The World's Oldest Sound.