(By Ann Alex)
See Russell's
preview below, which gives a foretaste of a programme well worth listening to,
which I caught on the 9.30pm repeat. It's the first of a series of 3, all about
post-colonialism in Europe, and the music to which it gave rise. Many countries
felt impelled to 'reward' their colonies for services rendered during WW2, so
they granted Independence and
encouraged immigration to Europe from
places such as the Congo, Algeria, Jamaica and Trinidad.
The narrator,
Clarke Peters, outlines how during the 1960's these immigrants brought African
jazz from the former Belgian Congo, including a form of cha-cha with
politically influenced lyrics. Algerian people came into France, bringing music
to the cafes and news from the homeland, songs of exile with strongly eastern
melodies. There was much optimism about the future of Africa so music from that
continent reached European capitals, along with architecture and fashion.
Davey Graham is a
well-known name in folk clubs, but I didn't realise that he had colonial
connections in the form of a Guyanese mother. He introduced DADGAD tuning for
guitars, which is a North African concept, giving an 'eastern' sound to the
playing. This tuning is talked about these days in folk clubs in hushed
reverential voices, (I'm not exaggerating) and perhaps guitarists reading this
can explain further. I'd bet that jazz musicians have been doing it since jazz
first evolved, but I digress.
Martin Simpson
explained that this more modal tuning influenced such guitarists as Martin
Carthy, Paul Simon and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. It is particularly effective
for Irish tunes and is both accessible and makes playing easier in some ways.
Then we heard about
the development of the Notting Hill Carnival, which evolved from a carnival
festival held in 1964, influenced by musicians from Jamaica and Trinidad who
came to England.
The programme was
peppered with short musical illustrations, though I'd have liked more of these
and longer excerpts. The final tune was Don't Stop The Carnival. Next
week we move on to further developments, including free jazz in Sweden. How did
that come about I wonder?
Ann Alex
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