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Nobleman and
Physician from the Lübeck Totentanz (dance of the dead)
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I have nothing to say and I am saying it. — John Cage
Friday, October 31, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Navajo Peyote Songs
by G. Jack Urso
Cover from the cassette (author's collection).
Navajo Peyote Songs Volume 1, by Kevin
Lewis and produced by Millard Clark, is a 1990 release by Indian Sounds on
cassette that I picked up while visiting the Little Bighorn Battlefield the
same year (then The Custer Battlefield). While I don’t understand Navajo, and
they are not indigenous to the Dakotas, I found the recording a nice
counterpoint to The Songs of the Seventh Cavalry. The
rhythmic chanting provides a meditative space to immerse oneself in another
culture. The full recording is provided below.
Lewis, according
to ALLMUSIC,
is of Navajo/Cherokee heritage and a medicine man trained to sing peyote songs
by his grandfather Bud Lewis, who lived to 116 years. As a result, the lineage
of tradition from the Old West to our ears is only one generation removed from
that era. Herschel Kaulaity, of Cheyenne/Kiowa heritage, provides the drumming.
There are twenty tracks; however, no titles or times are provided, nor are
there any liner notes. While this is a missed opportunity to educate the
listener, this does allow us to get lost in music that feels more like an
expression of nature than the typical over-produced commercial effort. Volume
II was released on CD in 1992.
The one break in
the spiritual tone comes about 17 minutes into the recording when Lewis, caught
up the ritual, begins chanting “Happy Birthday” over and over. While it must
have some significance, without a translation it seems a little incongruent
with the rest of the album. Rather than some peyote-induced wordplay, a Native
American listener familiar with Navaho informed me that it is a blessing for
someone who has lived to see another year. It would be nice to see a re-release
of this album with translations to allow the non-Native listener to more fully
appreciate it.
The artwork
below is not from the album, but from a former student of mine of
Apache/Mexican descent who incorporated Southwestern Native-themed psychedelic
imagery in his work. Click on the link below to listen to the full album on the
Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
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Songs of the Seventh Cavalry
by G. Jack Urso
In order to get a fuller picture
of the lives of those who lived before us, listening to the popular music of
the era reveals much about their hopes and fears. Songs of the Seventh Cavalry, a 1989 release funded by The Bismarck Tribune for the benefit of
the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation, features music that was sung by the
soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry during the post-Civil War period through the
Plains Indian Wars. Of particular interest, some of these songs were sung to
General George Custer by his officers on the eve of his infamous Last Stand.
Both the cassette and CD versions of the recording are available below from the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube channel.
I picked up this recording on cassette at the gift shop of
the Little Bighorn Battlefield (then called the Custer Battlefield) when I
visited in 1990. What strikes me the most about these songs is the melancholy, the
loneliness, and often the humor in the face of a dangerous and desolate
frontier on the plains. View the liner notes above for historical information related to each of the songs. There is a little bit of background hiss, but that
is expected considering it is a 25-year-old tape. Nevertheless, the sound quality
is otherwise clear and offers a full, if frequently forlorn, picture of life in the Old West. The cassette recording is provided below:
Produced by Debi Rogers and David Swenson
Musicians:
3. Shenandoah—Across the Wide Missouri (5:37)
4. Soldier’s Joy (2:58)
5. Good-bye at the Door (1:44)
6. Arkansas Traveler (2:00)
7. The Garryown (2:58)
8. The Dreary Black Hills (3:33)
9. Civil War Medley (3:35)
10. Captain Jinks of the Horsemarines (2:26)
11. Little Footsteps (2:07)
12. Annie Laurie (2:28)
Liner
Notes (click on image for larger view)
Produced by Debi Rogers and David Swenson
Musicians:
- Debi Rogers – Lead Vocals
- Tom Schafer – Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals
- John Lardinois – Guitars
- Mike Hunt – Bass
- Chuck Suchy – Autoharp
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Following are links to individual tracks from the CD version of the album,
along with the complete album available from the Aeolus 13 Umbra YouTube
channel:
1. When Jonny Comes Marching Home (2:28)
2. The Girl I left Behind Me (2:37)3. Shenandoah—Across the Wide Missouri (5:37)
4. Soldier’s Joy (2:58)
5. Good-bye at the Door (1:44)
6. Arkansas Traveler (2:00)
7. The Garryown (2:58)
8. The Dreary Black Hills (3:33)
9. Civil War Medley (3:35)
10. Captain Jinks of the Horsemarines (2:26)
11. Little Footsteps (2:07)
12. Annie Laurie (2:28)
The complete CD album for audiophiles
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