The Southern Journey of Alan Lomax: Words, Photographs, and Music
In the summer of 1959, folklorist Lomax traveled to the South to collect the music distinctive of the region that contributed greatly to broader American culture. This was ground he’d covered in the 1930s with his father, also a folklore collector, as they lugged around a 300-pound recorder. This time, Lomax was hoping to capture American folklore as embodied in music before it was commercialized beyond recognition. His earlier efforts had made famous such artists as Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) and the Georgia Sea Island Singers. Lomax took his camera along to record the lives as well as the music of those in work camps, prisons, and communities throughout the South. Award-winning Piazza now presents photographs taken during the journey, depicting farm auctions, prison work gangs, church revivals, humble homes, ordinary people, and musicians. Piazza’s accompanying essay chronicles Lomax’s deep roots in the South and his collaborations with Zora Neale Hurston, Jon Work, and others in collecting folk music. An accompanying CD features many of the musicians Lomax recorded, making for a rich celebration of Southern folk music. --Vanessa Bush