I used to have a fairly pat answer when folks asked me “what is World Music?” I would answer simply “Roots Music from where you don’t live.” It was quite flexible because if you were from anywhere outside the USA, you could say that American genres like Blues, Bluegrass, Cajun, Tex-Mex, etc. were all world music. Which in my opinion, they are. Of course, since then, “roots music” has become only one of the categories under the World Music umbrella.
Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur have been performing—or as they would say “uncovering” country style blues, ragtime and jugband music since the folk revival of the 60’s. I was a real fan back then, bought their recordings and attended some super fun shows and so I made it a point to see them when they played at Joe’s Pub this past October. I was gratified to see them both looking almost unchanged except for some greyed hair -- and they both sounded marvelous. There is a wonderful easy authenticity that they bring to their show; no affectation of "blackness." They love the music, they are totally grounded in it, and that's that.
The show didn’t have the pumped up energy of the Kweskin Jug Band, but instead was a program of acoustic blues duets, performed seated, most of which were discovered in private collections or public archives. Kweskin played guitar, and Muldaur switched off on banjo and guitar. The sound was surprisingly full and sweet, and along with newly dusted off and burnished songs from their new CD “Penny’s Farm” (Kingswood Records) they performed some favorites (Blues in the Bottle, Fishin’ Blues) as well as their tongue in cheek tribute to the life of a musician “Would You Like to Play Your Guitar” sung to the tune of “Swingin’ on a Star.”
So here’s two songs from that show, the classic “Fishin’ Blues” and “Diamond Joe.” It’s American folk music -NOT to be confused with “Americana” - lovingly presented. Is it world music? If you think about it, yes, it is.