A MAN NAMED HARRY SMITH BOHEMIAN VISIONARY IS REMEMBERED FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSIC ... BUT LET'S NOT FORGET AN ECLECTIC RANGE OF OTHER INTERESTS, TOO.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer Elvis Costello  The of this article or section may be compromised by "peacock terms".You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. said it seemed ``like a trip to a distant planet.'' Courtney Love thanked the project on one of her records. And a fashion spread in, of all things, Mademoiselle urged readers to ``get a lesson in music history'' from the thing. And now Costello and musicians such as Beck are gathering to celebrate it. What are we talking about? Bohemian visionary Harry Smith's ``Anthology of American Folk Music The Anthology of American Folk Music is a compilation of several dozen folk and country music recordings that were released as 78 rpm records in the 1920s and 1930s. The compilation was originally released in 1952 as a collection of six LPs. ,'' a collection of commercially released ``race,'' hillbilly, gospel and Cajun music from the late 1920s and early '30s, first issued in 1952 by Folkways folkways, term coined by William Graham Sumner in his treatise Folkways (1906) to denote those group habits that are common to a society or culture and are usually called customs. . The unlikely must-have collection of songs, compiled and artfully sequenced by Smith from his vast storehouse of 78s, was a much-mythologized underground classic until it entered the mainstream as a repackaged, remastered, reissued and well-advertised CD box set in 1997. This time, Smith's beautifully arcane anthology got noticed outside of inbred in·bred adj. 1. Produced by inbreeding. 2. Fixed in the character or disposition as if inherited; deep-seated. inbred said of offspring produced by inbreeding. folk circles. Rolling Stone said the project revealed ``the secret history of rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. .'' The Smithsonian Institution produced a daylong symposium titled ``Revelations of Tradition: Harry Smith's 'Anthology of American Folk Music' and Its Legacy.'' And in 1999, eclectic record producer Hal Willner organized events in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and London in which a range of unlikely artists offered interpretations of tracks by the Carter Family, Blind Lemon Jefferson "Blind" Lemon Jefferson (September 1893 – December 1929) was an influential blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s. Despite his commercial success, Jefferson stands alone in a category of his own. , Mississippi John Hurt "Mississippi" John Smith Hurt (July 2, 1892,[1] Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi - November 2, 1966, Grenada, Mississippi) was an influential blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar at age 9. and Dock Boggs from Smith's exotic 84-song collection. Today and Saturday, the Getty Center presents its own symposium on the late Smith's place in the American Bohemian movement. It includes panel discussions, lectures, film screenings and a concert. Wednesday and Thursday, Willner reprises REPRISES. The deductions and payments out of lands, annuities, and the like, are called reprises, because they are taken back; when we speak of the clear yearly value of an estate, we say it is worth so much a year ultra reprises, besides all reprises. 2. his ``Harry Smith Project'' concerts at UCLA's Royce Hall featuring Costello, Beck, Richard Thompson, Marianne Faithfull, Kate and Anna McGarrigle Kate and Anna McGarrigle are a Canadian folk music duo from Quebec. Profile Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle are sisters who write and perform together. They were born of Canadian and Irish parents in Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, northwest of Montreal, and educated at a , Gavin Friday and others. ``I wanted to embrace all the things Smith was interested in along with the music from the anthology,'' Willner explained. ``I felt, and Harry did, too, there are connections between Allen Ginsberg's poetry, (avant-garde New York folk-rock group) the Fugs, and even Indian peyote peyote (pāō`tē), spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii), ingested by indigenous people in Mexico and the United States to produce visions. ceremonies. I think it can all work together. Shows like this don't have dress rehearsals. They're more about sequencing, arranging a beginning, middle and end, and letting something extraordinary happen on stage.'' The full range of Smith's obsessions didn't become apparent until after he died at age 68 in 1991. A complex and eccentric man, he made significant contributions to recording, underground film, visual arts, philosophy and what is known today as ``outsider anthropology.'' His musical treasure trove TREASURE TROVE. Found treasure. 2. This name is given to such money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion, which having been hidden or concealed in the earth or other private place, so long that its owner is unknown, has been discovered by accident. of raw folk and blues from the rural South, however, made the most impact, helping fuel the folk revival of the '60s and inspiring many of today's alt-country stars. According to author Greil Marcus, Smith's anthology was the template for Bob Dylan's much-bootlegged ``Basement Tapes'' of murder ballads and shadowy folk-rock tunes. Costello says his first exposure to Smith's anthology was ``like discovering the secret script of so many familiar musical dramas. We are fortunate that someone collected these performances of such wildness, straightforward beauty and humanity.'' Ironically, in light of the compilation's artistic importance, Smith did it for the money. The Portland, Ore.-born, New York-based beatnik archivist's ever-present financial hunger had led him to approach Moses Asch of Folkways Records and offer to sell some of his vast record collection. With foresight unusual for the record business, Asch had Smith winnow See chaff and winnow. his selections down to 84 cuts on six albums, originally released as three two-album sets. ``It came from his own imagination and historic knowledge,'' said Thomas Crow, director of the Getty Research Institute. ``You have to marvel at what he achieved. The anthology really became a model for scholarship of early recordings of folkloric material. Smith didn't go down South with a tape recorder. He took what were commercial recordings produced by big companies for remote Southern markets. He ended up with an epic collage of American folk forms. Once you get inside the anthology, it's a world of its own.'' The collection, which won two Grammy Awards after its reissue, brought virtually unknown parts of America's musical heritage to light, creating a cultural wave that in the past decade alone inspired Beck, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and Britain's Nick Cave, to name a few well-known rock and alt-country artists. ``I was pretty staggered to discover some of this stuff in one place,'' said British folk-rocker Thompson, performing Wednesday at Royce Hall. ``I was already familiar with some of the artists like the Carter Family in a roundabout way. But (also) Dock Boggs and some others we probably wouldn't have heard of at all if not for Smith.'' Folklorists had done this sort of thing before. In the '30s, for example, musical archivist ARCHIVIST. One to whose care the archives have been confided. Alan Lomax took folk-blues great Leadbelly from the deep South to a New York recording studio. But Smith used primitive, previously issued for-profit ethnic recordings to fashion a captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. document of a rapidly waning world. ``It's funny, but the (reissued) anthology was really welcome in Ireland, which has a long history of murder ballads and dark subjects like that in songs,'' says Irish singer-songwriter Gavin Friday, who performs Wednesday and Thursday at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . ``And I think the interest in it points to people wanting good lyrics, songs that tell stories. I see people getting into real songs again. Some of these records Smith found could scare the life out of Tarantino. ``These are universal tales of betrayal, lust, love, passion, greed and murder. Contemporary audiences can relate the same way people did in the '20s and '30s.'' Harry Smith events ``Harry Smith: The Avant-Garde in the American Vernacular,'' the first interdisciplinary, multimedia symposium celebrating Smith's work. Speakers include Rani Singh, director of the Harry Smith Archives; social historian and author Greil Marcus; musician Percy Heath; ethnomusicologist Anthony Seeger; film archivist Jonas Mekas; author Luc Sante. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today; 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Harold M. Williams Auditorium. Admission to the Getty Center is free, but registration is required; call (310) 440-7300. Parking is $5 per car. ``Harry Smith Film Screening,'' an evening of experimental films by Smith drawing from all aspects of his career, including rare and unseen works from the Smith archives. 7:30 p.m. today. Harold M. Williams Auditorium. Admission is free, but registration is required; call (310) 440-7300. Parking is $5 per car. ``No Depression in Heaven: An Exploration of Smith's 'Anthology of American Folk Music
``Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project,'' an all-star concert presenting interpretations of tracks from the Smith anthology. Artists include Beck, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithfull, Richard Thompson, T-Bone Burnett, Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, and actor. His work spans six decades, and he has worked with luminaries from Grace Kelley to the Beach Boys and the Byrds. , Eric Mingus, Bill Frisell, Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, who has been hailed as one of the greatest cult heroines in rock music despite having released very few of her own recordings. She is the sister of comedic actress Catherine O'Hara. and others. 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. UCLA's Royce Hall, Westwood. One hour prior to each performance, UCLA ethnomusicology ethnomusicology Scholarly study of the world's musics from various perspectives. Although it had antecedents in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the field expanded with the development of recording technologies in the late 19th century. professor Anthony Seeger will discuss the work. Tickets are $30 to $70, and $15 for UCLA students with ID. Call (310) 825-2101. Info on all events is available at: www.harrysmitharchives.com. CAPTION(S): 5 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Who is Harry Smith... ...and why are musicians including Beck and Elvis Costello saluting him? John Lazar/Staff Photographer (2) The late artist and intellectual Harry Smith, as photographed by Robert del Tredici at the Breslin Hotel in New York in 1978. Robert del Tredici (3) Smith based one of his paintings, ``Manteca'' (1950), on Dizzy Gillespie's recording of the same name. Courtesy Harry Smith Archives (4) Elvis Costello: ``(It was) like discovering the secret script of so many familiar musical dramas.'' (5) Gavin Friday: ``Some of these records Smith found could scare the life out of Tarantino.'' (6) Richard Thompson: ``I was pretty straggered to discover some of this stuff in one place.'' Box: Harry Smith Events (see text) |
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