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Instrument of the state : a century of music in Louisiana's Angola's prison / Benjamin J. Harbert.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Harbert, Benjamin J., author.
- Series:
- American musicspheres.
- Oxford scholarship online.
- American musicspheres
- Oxford scholarship online
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Music in prisons--Louisiana--Angola.
- Music in prisons.
- Prisoners--Louisiana--Angola--Social conditions.
- Prisoners.
- Louisiana State Penitentiary--History.
- Louisiana State Penitentiary.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (276 pages)
- Place of Publication:
- New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2023.
- Summary:
- Louisiana's Angola prison is one of the largest and most brutal maximum-security prisons in the United States. However, it is also known for its significant musical contributions. Instrument of the State combines oral histories and archival research to piece together an account of how prisoners at Angola have used music for over 120 years. This book expands folkloric definitions of 'prison music' and considers the broader musicality of the prison as a way of understanding state power and the fragments of hope and joy that remain in its wake.
- Contents:
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Forewords by Calvin Lewis, Myron Hodges, and Wayne Kramer
- Acknowledgments
- Note to the Reader
- About the Companion Website
- Introduction
- The Book as a Multimovement Musical Piece
- Uncovering Histories
- The Musicality of Prison
- A Brief Overview of Louisiana Behind Bars
- 1. Astonishment
- Models: Angola's Preprison Polyphony
- Outlawry | Out-of-Law
- Penance | Penitentiary
- Slavery | Plantation
- Imagining Folklore in the Convict-Lease System
- The Astonishing Polyphony of State Control
- Enter Lomax and Lead Belly
- Curating "Prison Music"
- Conclusion
- 2. Association
- Thinking Beyond the Individual
- Carceral Associationalism
- Songs of the Gunmen
- Finding Swing in a Prison Newsmagazine
- A Sudden Call for Attention
- Hillbilly to Jazz in Camp E
- The Rhythm Makers of Camp A
- The All-Stars Start in Camp H-2
- Minstrelsy to Jazz with the Nic Nacs in Camp A
- The Nic Nacs Occupy the New Prison
- The Warden's Band
- Listening to Jazz in Prison
- 3. Politics
- Singing Out-of-Law
- Outlawry of the Field
- Music of Outlawry
- Associations/Cliques and By-Laws/Muscle
- The New Feel
- Freedom in a New Unity
- Transforming the Listenership
- Adding Rhythm to the Concept
- The Long Arm of the Band Room
- The New Nic Nacs
- Coda
- 4. Surfaces
- War Zone
- The Rodeo Surface Redraws Boundaries
- The Westernaires 1.0
- The Westernaires 2.0
- Silencing the Black Panthers
- Free-World Surfacework
- The Demise of the Westernaires
- Banquets
- Sublime Surfaces
- Lingering Surfaces
- 5. Inflection
- The Promise of Otis Neal
- Uneven Reforms of the Field
- Time Factor
- Def Posse
- Megasound
- Big River Band
- Gospel Melodies
- 6. Recapitulation
- Inflection by Statute
- Strapped Rodeo Surfaces.
- Transposed Secular Banquet Surface
- Hostile Takeover
- Banjo Scars
- Playing Politics
- Association for Rights
- Property
- Assembly
- Mobility
- Astonishing Call of the Canaries
- Lead Belly Remembered
- A Radical Revision of an Old Metaphor
- Notes
- References
- Index.
- Notes:
- Also issued in print: 2023.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on June 26, 2023).
- ISBN:
- 0-19-751754-4
- 0-19-751753-6
- 0-19-751752-8
- OCLC:
- 1379475663
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