Uwe Golz, Deutschlandradio Kultur, 09.12.2013

…die Fülle des zusammengetragenen Materials verdient eine Verbeugung – und in so geschlossener Form hat man die schwarze Musik in Europa noch nie verfolgen können. Diese Box ist ein Meilenstein in der Geschichte jener Musik, die wir heute so gerne und oft auch schnöde einfach als Schlager oder Pop bezeichnen. Hier liegen die Wurzeln unserer Unterhaltungsmusik, hier hat alles begonnen.

 

Uwe Golz, Deutschlandradio Kultur, 09.12.2013

Jorge García

Just a few words to express my admiration and give you my congratulations for this wonderful work! I’ve received the heavy box some days ago but I’m finishing a contribution to a Festschrift and will not have the time to examine it carefully for a time. I’ve just looked some pages and it’s amazing.

All the best from Valencia

 

Jorge García

Morris A. Phibbs, Deputy Director, Center for Black Music Research,

I am stunned! We just received our Black Europe set yesterday. I have, obviously, not been able to sit down with it yet, but we all hungrily page through it. Congratulations on the publication of this *huge* project!

We are preparing now the fall issue of CBMR Digest, which I hope to finish editing by the end of next week. I can certainly use the copy you provided earlier (below), but do you have any additional promotional materials that you can send me, including images that we can publish with your permission? Do you have reviews that we can link to, etc.?

I hope to have lunch with Sam Floyd next week, and I can’t wait to take the set with me to show him.

Again, I am stunned,

 

Morris A. Phibbs, Deputy Director, Center for Black Music Research, 14.11.2013

Thornton Hagert, Vernacular Music Research

Subject: Fwd: BLACK EUROPE

I have just received #147/500 of the new Black Europe production. It is quite astonishing. (I can hardly lift it ! ). With 44 discs ! and color photographs ! and informative biographies ! Thank you so much. It will take me many hours to appreciate all that is here.

I am particularly impressed with the African material which is all new to me. Also to read about and hear Afro-Am artists who are merely dim legends until now.Thank you again, Tony Hagert

Here’s more about the African material from one who knows it in some depth.

For those who have not kept abreast of this project, please see the attached announcement ( scroll down to very end ). That’s TWO books plus the 44 discs !

Some of the African material is indeed outstanding and in remarkably good sound quality considering their age. The Madagascan valiha, the Senegalese cora, the Baule flutes, the Pygmy folk songs, the Congolese speaking drums, the Amharic masinko, the Jaunde xylophone, etc etc.
Among the African-Americans my favourite is Pete Hampton, a name completely forgotten in the US (as are almost all the others brought to life again, with the exception of Josephine Baker)

 

Thornton Hagert, Vernacular Music Research

Colin Bray, Director, Jazz Oracle Record Company, Toronto, Canada

I received this set last week – couldn’t really afford it but bought it for myself as an early Xmas present. A truly remarkable piece of work. The music on the CDs is one thing but the books that go with it are just incredible. Wonderful to see all the ephemera. The people behind it should win the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for historic music reissues. I look forward to volume 2

 

Colin Bray, Director, Jazz Oracle Record Company, Toronto, Canada

 Steve Tracy, Professor of Afro-American Studies , University of Cincinnati

Got one for our library, and I got one too. This is a REMARKABLE, GROUNDBREAKING, BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING set. It will take years to digest, but what a sumptuous, fulfilling feast. GET SOMEBODY OR SOME INSTITUTION NEAR YOU TO GRAB THIS UP BEFORE THEY ARE ALL GONE. ONLY 500 LUCKY PLACES IN THE WORLD. Hmmm–I was restraining my enthusiasm!

 Steve Tracy, Professor of Afro-American Studies , University of Cincinnati

Yves Francois, trumpeter and jazz band leader, Chicago

In this day of age i am glad to see this. not enough has been done about pre jazz and early jazz of African and African diaspora music. Fela Kuti’s grandfather, for instance, has his recorded performances here, this is far more than a „Black Jazz in Europe“ set – even though I, for one would want EVERY record made of black jazz musicians in Europe before 1945. I will buy it when I move back east – it is THAT essential. Thank thou Rainer for working on such an important project, now what is the progress on the Briggs and Wooding sets that STILL have not been issued that you have worked so much on.

 

Yves Francois, trumpeter and jazz band leader, Chicago

Bill Dean-Myatt, author, Scottish Discography

I received my copy of Black Europe last week and was more than somewhat overwhelmed by it all.  I have only managed to play nine CDs so far and have been browsing the books in a totally random fashion.Given time I will be reading every word of the text.

What a fantastic document you have produced – a piece of musical and social history research that will probably remain the last word on the subject for many years to come, if not always.The amount of research in to lives and works of these, mostly, obscure artist is mind-boggling.

Congratulations on a superb work that should be in every public library and university that claims an interest in Black history and culture. You have right to feel a warm glow of self-satisfaction.

I will be submitting a review to For The Record magazine, although it will be aimed at a non-specialist readership, rather than one with a deep interest in the subject.

 

Bill Dean-Myatt, author, Scottish Discography

SCHWARZE MUSIK IN EUROPA

BLACK EUROPE

SCHWARZE MUSIK IN EUROPA

Ohne Zweifel, in der norddeutschen Tiefebene, so in der Gegend um Bremen herum, liegt ein Nest mit Verrückten. Chef und Gründer dieser Bande ist Richard Weize. Der neueste Streich seines weltweit berühmten Label Bear Family ist die 44 (vierundvierzig – nachgezählt und überprüft) CDs umfassende Box über schwarze Musik in Europa. Dass es bei dieser Anzahl von Silberlingen geblieben ist, liegt wohl daran, dass die Macher von „Black Europe“ nur die Jahre vor 1927 ins Visier genommen haben – die frühen Jahre des Pop also, als der noch eher als Jazz, Chanson oder Music Hall und Vaudeville daher kam. Damit kann kein Geld gemacht werden, aber das kümmert halt so richtig niemanden und damit es dann auch ein begehrtes Schnäppchen wird – zu einem Preis von 499 Euro – ist die Box weltweit auf 500 Exemplare beschränkt