With a Banjo on My Knee

Children's Literature

This book is subtitled "A Musical Journey From Slavery to Freedom." The participation in, and the contribution to, the music of America by Africans and African-Americans has been tremendous. However, while recognizing that, many Americans may be unaware of the importance of the banjo in African-American music and of the influence that banjo music has had in general. The author accents the influence of slavery because the music of African-Americans was shaped by that experience. The banjo is believed to be a version of the xalam, a type of lute played in West Africa. While the banjo has not been played exclusively by African-Americans, it lent itself well to the circumstances constraining those who were enslaved. The banjo was a homemade instrument allowing for individuality, yet one that could inspire group song. This is a comprehensive study of the subject and, in addition to tracing the music from the time of slavery to the present, the author profiles a number of musicians. A bibliography, discography and glossary are included, along with websites for further research. 2001, Franklin Watts, $26.00. Ages 12 to 16. Reviewer:Carolyn Mott Ford

VOYA

In a detailed and motivating resource for student research, Ellis explains the banjo's place in African American history. On a more scholarly level than Howard Elmer's Blues: Its Birth and Growth (Rosen, 1999), Ellis begins with the African griot, who used a banjo fashioned from a gourd to accent his storytelling. He then follows the banjo to the New World, where slaves used it to ease their misery and minstrel shows made it synonymous with black-face stereotype. Like Carlotta Hacker in her Great African Americans in Jazz (Crabtree, 1997), Ellis profiles individual artists. He includes banjo talents such as James A. Bland, who wrote "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," and Johnny St. Cyr, who played with Louis Armstrong. Michael Cooper's Slave Spirituals and the Jubilee Singers (Clarion, 2001/see VOYA review above), another excellent historical account, talks about music saved from slave life and shares Ellis's conversational style. Strong companion pieces, both books include documents, pictures, and drawings of the times and suggest extensive additional material, including musical sources. At some points, Ellis, especially in his graphic descriptions of lynching, seems to digress. His discussion, however, in emphasizing the slavery and Reconstruction burdens of African Americans, explains why a musical instrument symbolized shame. Reading Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement (Clarion, 2000) will clarify and reinforce the terror and degradation Ellis describes as well as the determination to overcome. The cover, which features "The Banjo Lesson," an insightful 1893 painting by Henry O. Tanner that was virtually ignored until the post-Civil Rights era, appropriatelyintroduces the story of an instrument that sorrow and prejudice pushed aside. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. Biblio. Source Notes. VOYA CODES: 5Q 2P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Franklin Watts, 160p. PLB $26. Ages 12 to 18. Reviewer: Lucy Schall SOURCE: VOYA, February 2002 (Vol. 24, No.6)

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Ellis celebrates the banjo as an instrument that initially defined African-American music. However, that association led to its use in minstrel shows, in which white performers appeared in blackface. Consequently, the instrument became maligned in the African-American community as a symbol of racism. The author points out that black people did perform in the shows, too, but also highlights the dangers they faced because of segregation. He speaks frankly about lynchings, and makes clear how the topic of African-American music and the banjo has to be understood from a social perspective in which violence against African Americans was commonplace. The second half of the book is devoted to performers who made the banjo their own. They are not widely known, and their stories are enlightening. There are numerous black-and-white historical photos and illustrations; some stereotyped portrayals of African Americans are included within the context of the discussion of minstrelsy. While Ellis is clearly passionate about his subject, and has done an enormous amount of research, the book's narrow focus and scholarly tone may limit interest. A book for libraries needing to expand music collections.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.