Genuine Negro Jig

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

This virtuosic, multi-instrumental trio reclaims and revives a near-forgotten brand of banjo-driven string-band music from North Carolina’s Piedmont region, making it fresh and vital for right now, and doing so with "a contagious, abundant joy," says the Boston Globe. The BBC calls Genuine Negro Jig—a Grammy winner for Best Traditional Folk Album—"magnificent." Nonesuch Store exclusive download: seven live bonus tracks.

Description

2010 Grammy Award Winner: Best Traditional Folk Album

Nonesuch Records released the label debut of North Carolina–based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops on February 16, 2010, and the vinyl version, which includes the album on 140-gram vinyl, on July 13. The album has received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Produced by critically acclaimed recording artist and songwriter Joe Henry (Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke), Genuine Negro Jig features string band interpretations of Blu Cantrell’s beat-box driven R&B single “Hit ‘Em Up Style” and Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose,” as well as a pair of original compositions, alongside such traditional tracks as “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Trouble in Your Mind.” It is the band’s second record; their 2007 release, Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind, was praised by Paste for “bravely and expertly reclaiming the string band tradition for modern African-American culture,” while NPR’s Weekend Edition calls the band “the hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades.”

Customers ordering Genuine Negro Jig through the Nonesuch Store receive a full seven Nonesuch Store-exclusive bonus tracks in their download, all recorded before a live audience at Santa Monica's famed Village Recorder studio in November 2009.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina, in 2005; they have toured continuously since the band’s inception. All three trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of Joe Thompson, who, at age 90, is believed to be the last living performer from the Piedmont string band heyday. While old-time Southern string music is often associated with Caucasian musicians from Appalachia, Giddens pointed out in a recent NPR interview that “it seems that two things get left out of the history books. One, that there was string band music in the Piedmont, period. (And that) black folk was such a huge part of string tradition.” The Carolina Chocolate Drops seek to not only correct this misunderstanding, but to keep the centuries-old string music tradition alive and developing.

The members of Carolina Chocolate Drops all come from diverse musical backgrounds, sharing singing duties and swapping instruments throughout their sets. Flemons has immersed himself in the music of the past, with a prodigious record collection and an immense knowledge of the different playing styles of the blues, country, and string band traditions. In addition to her work with Joe Thompson, Giddens—a Piedmont native—studied opera at Oberlin Conservatory, performs with a Celtic band and is also an avid contra dancer and caller. Robinson, the group’s main fiddler, also plays banjo; he grew up in a house full of musicians—his mother is a classically trained opera singer and cellist, his sister a classical pianist and his grandfather a harmonica player.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Joe Henry
Recorded January 9-16, 2009 and mixed February 17-20, 2009 by Ryan Freeland at The Garfield House, South Pasadena, CA
Studio assistance provided by Julian Cubillos
Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME

Tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and bonus tracks 14, 15, 18, 19 arranged by by Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson; track 6 and bonus track 17 arranged by Rhiannon Giddens.

Painting by Jules Arthur
Photography by Julie Roberts Photograph
Design by Barbara DeWilde

Nonesuch Selection Number

516995

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
FormatRestrictions

This album is available from Nonesuch in the world outside of France.

Album Status
Artist Name
Carolina Chocolate Drops
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Justin Robinson, fiddle (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12), vocal (2, 3, 5, 9, 10), beatbox (4), hand clapping (6), foot percussion (6), autoharp (9)
Rhiannon Giddens, 5-string banjo (1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10), vocal (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11), kazoo (3), fiddle (4, 5, 6)
Dom Flemons, bones (1, 5, 6, 8), guitar (2, 7, 10), vocal (2, 3, 8, 10), throat singing (2), 4-string banjo (3, 4, 12), jug (3, 4, 5, 12), guitar (7), bass drum (9)
Sule Greg Wilson, tambourine (3, 4), frame drum set (3), computer hard drive “triangle” (6), “leg” percussion (7), percussion (10)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597983982BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597979589
Label
LP+MP3
UPC
075597943535
  • 516995

News & Reviews

  • The new series My Music with Rhiannon Giddens premiered on PBS stations across the US this week. In the inaugural episode, Rhiannon Giddens visits with three lifelong friends: Justin Robinson, one of her fellow Carolina Chocolate Drops co-founders; her sister, singer Lalenja Harrington; and singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett. You can watch it here.

  • Rhiannon Giddens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame this October. "I'm so honored to be part of the 2016 class of inductees into the NC Music Hall of Fame," says Giddens. "Being from North Carolina has been such a big part of what I do and will remain so for the rest of my life; being a mentee of Joe Thompson and starting the Carolina Chocolate Drops along with Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson are among the things of my life that I am most proud of. Happy to be in such good company as the Avett Brothers, David Holt, my fellow Chocolate Drops, and other fine musicians. Carolina forever!"

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    2010 Grammy Award Winner: Best Traditional Folk Album

    Nonesuch Records released the label debut of North Carolina–based string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops on February 16, 2010, and the vinyl version, which includes the album on 140-gram vinyl, on July 13. The album has received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.

    Produced by critically acclaimed recording artist and songwriter Joe Henry (Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke), Genuine Negro Jig features string band interpretations of Blu Cantrell’s beat-box driven R&B single “Hit ‘Em Up Style” and Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose,” as well as a pair of original compositions, alongside such traditional tracks as “Cornbread and Butterbeans” and “Trouble in Your Mind.” It is the band’s second record; their 2007 release, Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind, was praised by Paste for “bravely and expertly reclaiming the string band tradition for modern African-American culture,” while NPR’s Weekend Edition calls the band “the hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades.”

    Customers ordering Genuine Negro Jig through the Nonesuch Store receive a full seven Nonesuch Store-exclusive bonus tracks in their download, all recorded before a live audience at Santa Monica's famed Village Recorder studio in November 2009.

    The Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, North Carolina, in 2005; they have toured continuously since the band’s inception. All three trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of Joe Thompson, who, at age 90, is believed to be the last living performer from the Piedmont string band heyday. While old-time Southern string music is often associated with Caucasian musicians from Appalachia, Giddens pointed out in a recent NPR interview that “it seems that two things get left out of the history books. One, that there was string band music in the Piedmont, period. (And that) black folk was such a huge part of string tradition.” The Carolina Chocolate Drops seek to not only correct this misunderstanding, but to keep the centuries-old string music tradition alive and developing.

    The members of Carolina Chocolate Drops all come from diverse musical backgrounds, sharing singing duties and swapping instruments throughout their sets. Flemons has immersed himself in the music of the past, with a prodigious record collection and an immense knowledge of the different playing styles of the blues, country, and string band traditions. In addition to her work with Joe Thompson, Giddens—a Piedmont native—studied opera at Oberlin Conservatory, performs with a Celtic band and is also an avid contra dancer and caller. Robinson, the group’s main fiddler, also plays banjo; he grew up in a house full of musicians—his mother is a classically trained opera singer and cellist, his sister a classical pianist and his grandfather a harmonica player.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Justin Robinson, fiddle (1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12), vocal (2, 3, 5, 9, 10), beatbox (4), hand clapping (6), foot percussion (6), autoharp (9)
    Rhiannon Giddens, 5-string banjo (1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10), vocal (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11), kazoo (3), fiddle (4, 5, 6)
    Dom Flemons, bones (1, 5, 6, 8), guitar (2, 7, 10), vocal (2, 3, 8, 10), throat singing (2), 4-string banjo (3, 4, 12), jug (3, 4, 5, 12), guitar (7), bass drum (9)
    Sule Greg Wilson, tambourine (3, 4), frame drum set (3), computer hard drive “triangle” (6), “leg” percussion (7), percussion (10)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Joe Henry
    Recorded January 9-16, 2009 and mixed February 17-20, 2009 by Ryan Freeland at The Garfield House, South Pasadena, CA
    Studio assistance provided by Julian Cubillos
    Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME

    Tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and bonus tracks 14, 15, 18, 19 arranged by by Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson; track 6 and bonus track 17 arranged by Rhiannon Giddens.

    Painting by Jules Arthur
    Photography by Julie Roberts Photograph
    Design by Barbara DeWilde

  • Format Availability

    This album is available from Nonesuch in the world outside of France.