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The Documentary: Black Music in Europe: Late 1950s-1960s

Clarke Peters

29/08/2020 GMT

Late 1950s-1960s

Black Music in Europe

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Black Music in Europe, Late 1950s-1960s

Congolese rumba recorded in Brussels, Algerian chaabi in Paris and Notting Hill Carnival

Congolese rumba recorded in Brussels, Algerian chaabi in Paris and the emergence of the Notting Hill Carnival in London

Clarke explores the variety of Black music produced in Europe in the late 1950s and early 1960s - Congolese rumba recorded in Brussels, Algerian chaabi in Paris and the emergence of the Notting Hill Carnival in London. We also hear how North African music inspired a revolution in folk guitar.

(Photo: Clark Peters. Credit:: Alexandra Quinn)

The Documentary: Black Music in Europe

Clarke Peters uncovers the stories of black musicians in Europe up to the Jazz Age.

Clarke Peters draws on a rare collection of archive recordings to explore a forgotten musical history.
 
Received wisdom has it that black popular music arrived in Europe with the Empire Windrush in 1948, but Clarke brings us black sounds recorded in Europe from as far back as 1900.
 
Focusing on early commercial discs made in the recording studios of London, Paris and Berlin, we hear from dozens of different performers, including African American travelling entertainers, traditional African musicians, black British classical composers and more.

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