Re: An (incomplete) list of recorded black mandolinists
Originally Posted by
brunello97
Taj Mahal has got to fit in here somewhere.
Mick
I came across a reference to Taj playing mandolin, but neither I nor the usually dependable Mandolin Cafe crowd was able to find any recordings or videos.
Originally Posted by
mrmando
There's an African-American string band in New York called the Ebony Hillbillies. Saw them at Wintergrass one year. I don't remember if they had a mandolin player at the time (they don't appear to have one now).
I like the Ebony Hillbillies very much. Unfortunately, they neither ship CD's or sell MP''s in Canada, so I can only hear them on YouTube. I've never seen or heard of them playing mandolin, but they sure have a well-used dulcimer.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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