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Smithsonian Folkways Mission
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Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. We believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials we seek to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others. Our mission is the legacy of HYPERLINK "http://folklife.si.edu/center/legacy/asch.aspx"/t "_blank" who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music," spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued the Folkways commitment to cultural diversity, education, increased understanding, and lively engagement with the world of sound.
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Smithsonian Folkways History
Folkways Records & Service Co. was incorporated in 1948 in New York City by Moses Asch (1905-1986) and Marian Distler (1919-1964). Under Asch's enthusiastic and dedicated direction, Folkways sought to record and document the entire world of sound. Between 1948 and Asch's death, Folkways' tiny staff released 2,168 albums. Topics included traditional, ethnic, and contemporary music from around the world; poetry, spoken word, and instructional recordings in numerous languages; and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, current events, and natural sounds.
As one of the first record companies to offer albums of "world music," and as an early exponent of the singers and songwriters who formed the core of the American folk music revival (including such giants as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly), Asch's Folkways grew to become one of the most influential record companies in the world.
Following Asch's death, in 1987 the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington D.C. acquired Folkways Recordings and the label's business papers and files to ensure that the sounds and genius of its artists would continue to be available to future generations.
As a condition of the acquisition, the Smithsonian agreed that virtually all of the firm's 2,168 titles would remain "in print" forever a condition that Smithsonian Folkways continues to honor through its custom order service. Whether it sells 8,000 copies each year or only one copy every five years, every Folkways title remains available for purchase.
In the years since 1987, Smithsonian Folkways has continued to expand on Asch's legacy, adding several other record labels to the collections and releasing over 300 new recordings that document and celebrate the sounds of the world around us.
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| Jamaican Folk Music |
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CD Jamaican Cult Music/Various Artists |
| Review: The year 1862 brought a wave of Baptist missionaries to Jamaica, thus beginning the Great Revival. In a melding of fundamentalist Christian practices with African religious and magical beliefs, Revival Zion shepherds (ministers) led followers in a musical "laboring in the spirit." Of special note in these recordings is the audible trumping, or the "trampling" of evil spirits to a rhythmic foot-stamping, which is accompanied by a heavy rhythmic breathing (hyperventilation) that often leads to possession. In sharp contrast, this compilation also includes recordings of hymns that hit West Kingston in the 1930s emergence of Rastafarianism, another religious cult that sees itself in part as a counter to Revivalist cults, as well as the secular kumina drumming and junkanoo music. |
| Release Year: 1954 |
| Catalog Number: FE4461 |
| Credits:Produced by George Eaton Simpson Recorded by George Eaton Simpson Design by Ronald Clyne8 |
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CD Jamaican Folk Songs/Louise Bennett |
| Review: Jamaican singer and folklorist Louise Bennett sings Jamaican folk songs, work songs, dancing songs and banana-boat-loading songs. Amongst these songs are parables, cautionary tales and opportunities for poking fun, all for having fun. |
| Release Year: 1954 |
| Catalog Number: FE6846 |
| Credits:Artist Louise Bennett Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Folk Music of Jamaica/Various Artists |
| Review: This compilation provides a glimpse into the secular and religious musics of Jamaica. Work songs sung to occupy and energize manual laborers are placed side by side with "ring play" which consists of spontaneous song-games played in a circle in the moonlight, sometimes during wakes Christian cult music of Revival Zion and Pocomania is juxtaposed with "Afro" magico-religious cult music kumina. |
| Release Year: 1956 |
| Catalog Number: FE4453 |
| Credits:Recorded by Edward P.G. Seaga Produced by Edward P.G. Seaga Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Children's Jamaican Songs and Games/Louise Bennett |
| Review: Louise Bennett leads irresistible ring games that have been the favorites of Jamaican children across generations. Many songs retain a specifically African or British flavor. |
| Release Year: 1957 |
| Catalog Number: FC7250 |
| Credits:Artist Louise Bennett |
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CD Bongo, Backra & Coolie: Jamaican Roots, Vol. 1/Various Artists |
| Review: Jamaican folk music blends African, European and East Indian (in dialect: Bongo, Backra and Coolie) roots into something distinctly Jamaican. Kumina, a magico-religious cult of predominantly rural peasantry, includes invocation of and possession by gods and ancestral spirits aided by songs and drumbeats. Convince, another magico-religious cult that likely originated among the Maroons of the Blue Mountains, differs from kumina on two basic accounts: ghosts called "duppies" rather than gods do the possessing and convince music never uses drums. Yet, kumina and convince share similar lineage from African cultural practices. Also sampled here are examples of "Hindustani" music intended for dancing. These selections use the tabla drum, the "Indian fiddle" (a bowed three-stringed instrument) and a nasal vocal tone. Volume Two (FW04232) continues with Zion Revival, quadrille bands and fife and drum music.
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| Release Year: 1975 |
| Catalog Number: FE4231 |
| Credits:Produced by Kenneth M. Bilby Recorded by Kenneth M. Bilby Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Bongo, Backra & Coolie: Jamaican Roots, Vol. 2/Various Artists |
| Review: Jamaican folk music blends African, European and East Indian (in dialect: Bongo, Backra and Coolie) roots into something distinctly Jamaican. Revival Zion, an Afro-Christian religious cult influenced by the early 19th century Myal cults and American missionaries (largely Baptist), involves possession led by a body of music comprised of Christian hymns, choruses, bands choruses and blowing tunes. Possession is uniquely defined by a heavy rhythmic breathing often called "trumping" this practice is clearly audible on this recording. Quadrille ("katreel") music hearkens back to the colonial era when slaves learned European dance forms for the entertainment of the Europeans, but it quickly became a fully appropriated fiddle music for the entertainment of the non-Europeans following the fall of slavery. On these recordings, the instrumentation includes bamboo fife, guitars and four-string banjo. Fife and drum music is often associated with junkanoo festivities surrounding the Christmas season that involves energetic dancing intended for "jollification." Volume One (FW04231) includes music of kumina and convince cults and "Hindustani" dance music.
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| Release Year: 1975 |
| Catalog Number: FE04232 |
| Credits:Produced by Kenneth M. Bilby ; Recorded by Kenneth M. Bilby Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Calypso Rock Songs of Jamaica/Horace Johnson |
| Review: 1 |
| Release Year: 1978 |
| Catalog Number: FTS31308 |
| Credits:Artist Horace Johnson Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD John Crow Say..: Jamaican Music of Faith, Work and Play/Various Artists |
| Review: Rounds or cannons or quadrilles, European church harmony or familiar hymn melodies—these are testaments to the British contribution to Jamaican culture. African call-and-response patterns, a particular and signifying humor, and Anansi (trickster) stories speak to the African input. But listening will tell you that the cultural voice is truly unique to Jamaica. |
| Release Year: 1981 |
| Catalog Number: FE4228 |
| Credits:Produced by George Eaton Simpson Recorded by George Eaton Simpson Design by Ronald Clyne8 |
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CD Drums of Defiance: Maroon Music from the Earliest Free Black Communities of Jamaica/Various Artists |
| Review: Featuring complex, West African influenced drumming and dancing, this little-known rural tradition is at the heart of modern, politically charged reggae music. The conviction heard here reveals a long history of struggle. During the 17th and 18th centuries, some of the Africans brought to Jamaica as slaves escaped to the mountains. There they settled, and over time, they became known as "Maroons." Today, four major Maroon colonies still exist in Jamaica's rugged western Cockpit Country and in the eastern Blue Mountains. Some selections on this recording were previously issued in 1981 on Folkways 4027. "..[A]n aural kaleidoscope, presenting small glimpses into the colorful world of the Maroon music of Jamaica." - Sing Out |
| Release Year: 1992 |
| Catalog Number: SFW40412 |
| Credits:Design by Carol Hardy; Photography by Kenneth Bilby; Mastered by David Glasser, Airshow, Springfield, VA ; Compiled by Kenneth Bilby; Notes Edited by Kenneth Bilby ; Liner Notes by Kenneth Bilby ; Recorded by Kenneth Bilby ; Produced by Kenneth M. Bilby ; Field Worker Kenneth M. Bilby |
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CD B.W.I./Various Artists |
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| Release Year: 1957 |
| Catalog Number: FW8809 |
| Credits:Cover artwork by Irwin Rosenhouse |
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CD Caribbean Folk Music, Vol. 1/Various Artists |
| Review: Whether purely instrumental or with a chorus, each of these recordings manages to capture the spirit of the English, Spanish, and French speaking Caribbean. Many of the recordings are of dance music as music and dance are commonly linked in Caribbean cultures. Representing fifteen countries this collection speaks to the vibrant nature of the West Indies where even a song like "Nous Allons Dodo" or "We're Going to Sleep" is anything short of a lullaby. |
| Release Year: 1960 |
| Catalog Number: FE4533 |
| Credits:Produced by Harold Courlander |
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CD Caribbean Songs and Games for Children/Various Artists |
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| Release Year: 1978 |
| Catalog Number: FC07856 |
| Credits:Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD African and Afro-American Drums/Various Artists |
| Review: African and Afro-American Drums is an examination of African drumming and its influence on the music of the Americas. Representing eight countries in the American continents, Harold Courlander has compiled an anthology of drum music from three continents and explores its various uses as well as chronicles the evolution of drum music. Extensive liner notes accompany this album and include a transcription of Haitian Juba Dance drums by George Herzog. |
| Release Year: 1954 |
| Catalog Number: FE04502 |
| Credits:Produced by Harold Courlander; Cover artwork by Irwin Rosenhouse |
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CD Music of the World's Peoples: Vol. 5/Various Artists |
| Review: Singing, chanting and playing instruments-music is a human activity that often draws a community together. Musicians from Haiti, Poland, Burma, Fiji and Scotland share their ways of making a joyful noise on this final volume in the Music of the World's Peoples collection. (See also FW04504, FW04505, FW04506 and FW04507.) |
| Release Year: 1961 |
| Catalog Number: FE4508 |
| Credits:Produced by Henry Cowell; Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Toward World Understanding with Song/Various Artists |
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| Release Year: 1966 |
| Catalog Number: FD5720 |
| Credits:Produced by V,V,R. Nye |
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CD Roots of Black Music in America/Various Artists |
| Review: This two volume-collection, is a survey of instrumental and vocal music from African cultures as well as from African American musicians in the southern United States. Producer Samuel Charters created the album with the intent to provide musical examples from "two worlds" through traditional offerings of African tribal music, cultural roots that were forcefully suppressed during the period of slavery in America, and African American music evocative of the influence of its predecessors. 41 songs, 1.3 hours, with liner notes featuring an introduction by Samuel Charters, descriptions of songs, and examples of archival documents describing early African music and black music in the southern United States. |
| Release Year: 1972 |
| Catalog Number: FD2694 |
| Credits:Produced by Samuel Barclay Charters; Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Black Music of Two Worlds/Various Artists |
| Review: The subject of this album is the meeting of three musical traditions-African, Arab, and European-to create a fourth tradition of great richness and international impact, that of the Black New World. It is hardly surprising that Afro-American music is so rich. It draws form three major European sources-English, French, and Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese)-as well as several western African traditions..."
John Storm Roberts
"El objeto de este álbum es analizar el encuentro de tres tradiciones musicales, la africana, la árabe y la europea, para crear una cuarta tradición de gran riqueza e impacto internacional, la cultura negra del Nuevo Mundo. En realidad, no es sorprendente que la música afro-americana sea tan rica como lo es, ya que proviene de tres importantes fuentes europeas, Inglaterra, Francia y la península Ibérica, así como de varias tradiciones del oeste africano..."
John Storm Roberts |
| Release Year: 1977 |
| Catalog Number: FE04602 |
| Credits:Produced by John Storm Roberts; Recorded by John Storm Roberts; Design by Ronald Clyne |
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CD Smithsonian Folkways World Music Collection/Various Artists |
| Review: This is a compilation of Folkways recordings. Please see the abstract field for each track for a citation to the source recording from which it came. |
| Release Year: 1997 |
| Catalog Number: SFW40471 |
| Credits:Mastered by Charlie Pilzer, Airshow, Springfield, VA; Design by Visual Dialogue, Boston, MA; Compiled by Anthony Seeger; Notes Edited by Anthony Seeger; Liner Notes by Anthony Seeger; Produced by Anthony Seeger |
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