Thank you, Steve! Sheryl Crow's a cappella rendition of "Beautiful Dreamer" makes me think of Hartford for many reasons! Cindy ________________________________________ From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve Courtney [[log in to unmask]] Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011 1:28 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . . Release party! Congratulations=2C Cindy. Needless to say=2C the strains of = your new CD have been heard wafting through the air even in stuffy old Hart= ford recently.... Steve Courtney 7 Union St. Terryville=2C CT 06786 860-589-6412 ---------------------------------------- > Date: Fri=2C 23 Sep 2011 12:23:26 -0400 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . . > To: [log in to unmask] > > http://travelingwithtwain.org/2011/09/22/hannibal-mo/an-evening-of-twain-= in=3D > spired-bluegrass/ > > I hope this link survives the cut and paste. > These folks attended our CD release party > Tuesday night and shared their thoughts. > > From their website: > > From September 18 to December 11=2C=3D20 > a Northwestern journalism student=2C a 2011 > journalism graduate and I will undertake a > 9=2C000-mile odyssey=2C =3D93Traveling with Twain in Search > of America=3D92s Identity.=3D94 The drive will follow trips > taken around the United States by Mark Twain > in the 1850s and 1860s. Our journey will > attempt to weave together three stories about identity in America. > > > ________________________________________ > From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Harold Bush [bushh= k@=3D > SLU.EDU] > Sent: Friday=2C September 23=2C 2011 10:41 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: This year's winner of the MT Award is . . . . > > good question=2C Sharon. and again=2C as Sharon notes=2C this response al= so may > sound controversial .... > > As Cindy notes: the cd is pretty much the Nashville crowd=2C which is pre= tty > white these days. I love a lot of these artists=2C and some of the artist= s d=3D > o > tap into the old appalachian roots/Americana stuff from the old days. the > Church Sisters (very young but quite talented) represent a pleasant trend= i=3D > n > music by youngsters -- getting back to the roots (or as Dylan named what = I > think is his greatest record: "Bringin' It All Back Home"). and there are > some of the old hands=2C like Jimmy Buffett or Emmylou Harris=2C and youn= ger > folks like Ricky Skaggs=2C whose veneration for older artists like Earl > Scruggs and Doc Watson (a couple of my personal favorites) is well known.= =3D > I > like the line-up=2C but again=3B it's all dominated by the Nashville scen= e=2C by > Jackson's own admission=3B and so interpret that as you wish. Maybe John = Bir=3D > d > could say more on this. > > A huge part of those roots=2C besides the race factor (and very often cop= uled > with African Americans) is the religious factor. What I really miss (and = I > am this very morning writing about Du Bois and the black spirituals) is= =2C of > course=2C those spirituals. There is some irony in the fact that Nashvill= e > was once the original scene of the Fisk Jubilee Singers=2C whom Twain sta= ted > on several occasions were his favorite music. In representing his life=2C= at > least one or two old spirituals might have been nice -- and also since th= ey > were so prevalent in his life=2C and in fact were the songs he attempted = to > sing while comforting his dying wife Livy=2C for instance. Even the minst= rel > shows and Tom shows drew upon these great songs. I wish this were at leas= t > represented-- especially given the deep religious convictions of the pres= en=3D > t > day Nashville scene=2C which seems like it should know better. Emmylou is > pretty well known for her faith=2C but a lot of the other more prominent > religious artists such as Norman Blake=2C Alison Krause=2C Patty Griffin= =2C Buddy > Miller=2C or T-Bone Burnett are not represented here. > > Not sure why this aspect missed the cut?? Perhaps=2C again=2C the general > misunderstanding of Twain as "not religious"?? just speculating .... but > without a doubt=2C MT loved the black spirituals=2C and often sang them t= o > guests at his home. > > ps -- Sharon and all=3B if you've not read David Reynolds' new book on UN= CLE > TOM'S CABIN=2C you might find the material on the Tom shows as surprising= and > interesting as I did. Not reviewed on this LIST=2C but certainly a must > read. It is one of the most positive interpretations of the music of the > Tom shows I've come across. > > --Hal B. > > > > > > On Fri=2C Sep 23=2C 2011 at 10:00 AM=2C Sharon McCoy <[log in to unmask] et>wrote=3D > : > > > May I ask what may be a provocative question? > > > > Looking over the CD=2C it seems to include some wonderfully talented fo= lks. > > But > > it seems odd to me=2C especially given what we know about Twain's taste= in > > music=2C > > that a CD called "Mark Twain: Words and Music" seems to be composed > > entirely of > > white musicians and performers. Some of the names were unfamiliar to me= =3D > =2C > > but > > when I did a quick Google search=2C they all appear to be white. Odd. > > > > > -- > Harold K. Bush=2C Ph.D > Professor of English > Saint Louis University > St. Louis=2C MO 63108 > 314-977-3616 (w)=3B 314-771-6795 (h) > <www.slu.edu/x23809.xml> =