Last night at Central Park Summer Stage, prolific bluegrass artist Bela Fleck showcased the results of his endeavor to bring the banjo–evidently influenced by African string instruments–back to Africa. After playing a dazzling set alongside Malian Afropop star Toumani Diabate, Fleck introduced “Throw Down Your Heart,” a film by his half-brother, Sascha Paladino, documenting his banjo jam sessions with African musicians. While watching the film, my eye was drawn to signs of globalization on the African continent: a plastic bucket used to carry water, Maasai herdsmen discussing the allure of making money in the city versus the village, one of Mali’s most successful musicians cruising in a Lexus, and of course, Afropop itself.
As a traditional preservationist (and partly due to my white American Jewish guilt), I can’t help but mourn that Africa wasn’t left to persist or culturally evolve independently of the influence of Western civilization. Do global events, the evolution of communications and technology, and the movement of civilizations render the notion of a “pure” culture totally naive and unattainable? I hope not.
Still, perhaps the creation of beautiful music, and the use of music as a medium for dialogue, softens the blow of cross-cultural pollination to the traditional soul. Maybe that’s why Bela bought the banjo back to Africa, and why JDub exists for the Jews.
P.S. In case you missed it, Girls in Trouble’s Alicia Jo Rabins recently exported some American bluegrass to South America. Have a look. And check out JDub’s cantorial afropop kings, The Sway Machinery.