Videos Showing The Similarities Between African American Fife & Drum Bands & Brazilian Zabumba Ensembles

Alan Lomax Archive, May 21, 2012

Othar Turner's Rising Star Fife & Drum band (Turner, fife; G.D. Young, bass drum; E.P. Burton, snare; Eddie Ware, snare) playing a picnic at Othar's farm. Shot by Alan Lomax, John Bishop, and Worth Long in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, August 1978

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Video #2: African-American Fife & Drum Music: Mississippi & Jamaica

hultonclint, Feb 1, 2009

This is archival (?which) footage of a fife and drum group of Ed and Lonnie Young of Mississippi.  I believe it was recorded by Alan Lomax, sometime between 1959 and the early 60s.  They use a fife made of cane, and drums adapted from military bands.

It is interesting how similar it is, not just in form but also in actual content, to the fife and drum playing of "John Canoe" processional music of Jamaica.  I have put just a quick sample of that from a 1954 recording, at the end.

[My purpose for posting is to draw out this comparison, which would probably not be noticed otherwise (the clip being buried in Martin Scorcese's documentary on Blues), but if it appears to infringe someone's copyright, please contact me.]

EDIT: "This footage was shot during the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, indeed by Alan Lomax. Ed Young plays the fife; Lonnie Young, Sr., the snare; and G.D. Young, the bass drum. Lomax's audio recordings from Newport '66, including those of the Youngs, are available through the online archive of the Association for Cultural Equity (Alan Lomax Archive)." - AlanLomaxArchive

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Video #3: Novena com zabumbeiros no povoado Fontinha em Tobias Barreto

MARCIO MIPIDEIAS, Apr 24, 2020

As tradicionais Novenas realizadas pelos antigos moradores da zona rural de Tobias Barreto estão sendo esquecidas ao longo do tempo. Hoje em dia apenas algumas famílias realizam e chamam os tocadores de zabumba para homenagear o Santo que representa a Novena.

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Google translate from Spanish to English 

The traditional Novenas performed by former residents of the rural area of Tobias Barreto are being forgotten over time. Nowadays, only a few families perform and call the zabumba players to honor the saint who represents the Novena.

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Video #3: Zabumba - A tradição das Bandas de Pífanos no Sertão de Canudos - Parte 2 / 3

Iris de Oliveira, Apr 26, 2011

Em Canudos Velho, sertão da Bahia, região onde aconteceu uma guerra no século 19, a cultura popular tem tornado-se um dos elementos que remetem às suas origens. A tradição da Zabumba, como é também conhecida as Bandas de Pífanos na região, é preservada por quatro irmãos que juntos mantêm viva a memória de seus antepassados. Quiquio, 19 anos, flautista e líder do grupo, sai em busca de suas raízes, dialoga e visita parentes, seus costumes, histórias, músicos jovens e mestres em outras localidades da região.
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Google translate from Portuguese to English:
In Canudos Velho, in the hinterland of Bahia, a region where a war took place in the 19th century, popular culture has become one of the elements that refer to its origins. The Zabumba tradition, as the Fife Bands are also known in the region, is preserved by four brothers who together keep alive the memory of their ancestors. Quiquio, 19, a flutist and leader of the group, goes out in search of his roots, talks and visits relatives, their customs, stories, young musicians and masters in other parts of the region.
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A zabumba ensemble can be seen around 7:00 to around 10:35 in this video.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents YouTube examples of African American fife & drum bands and YouTube examples of  Brazilian zabumba ensembles. 

This post also includes information about American fife and drum bands and information about Brazil's zabumba ensembles.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the producers of these videos and the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/african-other-sources-of-african.html for a March 2021 pancocojams post entitled "Similarities Between African American Fife And Drum Music & Certain Traditional African Music and Other Traditional Music (YouTube discussion thread comments)".

That post showcases the first video that is showcased in this Sept. 2021 post and includes some comments from that video's discussion thread.

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INFORMATION ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN FIFE AND DRUM BANDS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fife_and_drum_blues
"Fife and drum blues is an American folk music form derived from country blues, martial music tradition, and African rhythms. It is performed typically with one lead fife player and a troop of drummers. Unlike a drum corps, the drum troop is loosely structured. As such, a fife and drum band may have a variable number of snare, tom, and bass drum players. A large military-style bass drum is preferred. Fife and drum performances are often family affairs held at reunions, summer community picnics, and on holidays.

History

Pre-American Civil War military fife and drum bands provided a rough framework which black musicians would fill with African and African-American influences to create a new music. Black fife and drum music persists in a stretch of Southern states stretching from northwest Georgia to an area south of Memphis, namely North Mississippi. The music is infused with Euro-American military drum tradition and distinctly African polyrhythms, talking drum influence, and call and response patterns. Performers play blues, marches, minstrel show pieces, popular music, instrumentals, and spirituals such as "When the Saints Go Marching In", "When I Lay My Burden Down", "My Babe" and "Sitting on Top of the World".[1] A "march" becomes more of a swaying dance, sometimes led by a dancer, and singing comes in sporadic shouts, whoops, and moans from the different players. While spirituals are sometimes played, gatherings of drum and fife music are not religious in nature and not held on Sundays or in church.

Alan Lomax first recorded black fife and drum music in 1942. He found a group, including Sid Hemphill, near Sledge, Mississippi consisting of a cane fife, two snare drums, and a bass drum. These same musicians constituted themselves as a string band, using violin, banjo, guitar, and bass drum, and also incorporated quills.[2]"

Notable performers include Napoleon Strickland, Othar Turner, Turner's granddaughter Shardé Thomas, Turner's daughter, Bernice, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Ed and Lonnie Young, and the Mitchel Brothers from Georgia.
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Click the "African American fife and drum bands" tag for more pancocojams posts on this subject.

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INFORMATION ABOUT BRAZIL'S ZABUMBA ENSEMBLE
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabumba
"A zabumba (Portuguese pronunciation: [zaˈbũbɐ]) is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing.

The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is made of wood and may utilize either skin or plastic drum heads and is usually tensioned via metal lugs and tension rods. The top head is usually muted with tape or cloth strip(s) and struck with a cloth-covered mallet (held in the right hand) to produce a low fundamental note with minimal overtones. The bottom head is tuned tighter and is struck with a thin, twig-like stick called a bacalhau which is held in the left hand to produce a high fundamental with a sharp attack and numerous overtones."

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOSkO5_Q__A&ab_channel=KALANGO%7Cbrazilianinstruments published by KALANGO | brazilian instruments, Jun 21, 2017

The zabumba is the heartbeat of any Forró-, Baião-, Xote- or Xaxado ensemble. Just like the surdo in Samba it plays the base and provides the pulse while pushing forward to jump up and dance with its syncopated rhythms. The playing technique is a little different: the superior head - which is equipped with a nylon head for a stronger attack - is played with a short, padded mallet, whilst the resonance head is played with a thin switch producing the typical constrast with contrarhythms. A good zabumba player knows how to make you dance even if you are not much of dancer. Always on his side - the triangle, the accordeon and a singer. An 18" zabumba is a great medium size and offers many various tuning possibilities."...

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT9tlAP237E&ab_channel=KALANGO%7Cbrazilianinstruments published by KALANGO | brazilian instruments, Jun 21, 2017
20'' rustical aluminium zabumba - for traditional Forró and north-east Brazilian dance nights!

A zabumba must not be missing in any Forró-, Baião-, Xote- or Xaxado ensemble. It gives the pulse and pushes everyone to dance with its syncopated beats. Even if you're not into dancing much, a good zabumba player - together with accordeon, triangel and vocals - will make you take your shoes off! Zabumbas are played with a soft and short mallet on the superior head, in this case equipped with a nylon head for stronger attack. To make the sound warmer, you can muffle the head with some tape and a piece of cloth or use a nappa head, it depends on what sound you prefer! To produce the typical contrast, the contrarhythms on the other side of the zabumba are played with a thin switch on a nylon head. Za-bum-ba, that's how it sounds!

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