Roots music has appeared on pops concerts before, most often sung awkwardly by classical figures or pop stars. This live release by the increasingly successful Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under conductor John Morris Russell, however, breaks new ground. The program, as the title indicates, is centered broadly on the year 1918, when new musical currents swirled around the U.S., set in motion by the Great War. Those currents include popular songs, African American songs of various kinds, and even the string band music that was ...
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Roots music has appeared on pops concerts before, most often sung awkwardly by classical figures or pop stars. This live release by the increasingly successful Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under conductor John Morris Russell, however, breaks new ground. The program, as the title indicates, is centered broadly on the year 1918, when new musical currents swirled around the U.S., set in motion by the Great War. Those currents include popular songs, African American songs of various kinds, and even the string band music that was the ancestor of the bluegrass and country genres as we know them today. The orchestra teams with musicians who understand these genres, and have the talent to look beyond them and collaborate broadly. Soprano Rhiannon Giddens, who came on the scene in the rare but fascinating genre of black string band music, vocalist Pokey LaFarge, and bluegrass band the Steep Canyon Rangers are well known to anyone who follows roots music, but less so either to classical or mainstream listeners. All...
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