Trans-Atlantic Music

Wynn, Neil A., ed.
Cross the Water Blues: African American Music in Europe
Mississippi: The University Press, 2007

A unique collection of essays, Cross the Water Blues is a volume of conference proceedings that examine the influence of African American music on European audiences from the late 19th century to the present. Although the contributors range vastly across disciplines, together they offer interpretations of this music from an historical, analytical, social, and philosophical perspective. While the essays focus primarily on the blues, other genres, such as jazz, orchestral music, and the British blues-rock movement are also explored. This book provides an impressive, unique, and at times fascinating examination of cross-cultural relationships in music authored by scholars who are both knowledgeable and engaging.

The collection begins with editor Neil Wynn’s broad overview of the effects and assimilation of African American culture in a transatlantic world. From his perspective, blues not only provided the inspiration for early rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s, but also served as the basis for later explorations within the British pop music scene into the 1960s. For example, several of the featured authors point out the obvious blues-roots of artists such as Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. Stemming from the influence of rock ‘n’ roll and R&B in the United States, British rock ‘n’ roll added a new sense of drive to their music while also paving the way for many sub-genres to emerge, such as the popular British “Skiffle.” In addition to bridging the gap between Europe and America during this time period, Wynn also provides evidence that interest in this music remains high even today, with 70 percent of blues records being sold in Europe.

The majority of these essays have a primary focus on Britain, but also include France, Germany, and the Netherlands when considering the influence of black music. Some authors examine pre and post World War I developments in great detail, such as the work of blues evangelists who helped bring the music to wider audiences, or the study of blues music as a product of modernism. Others explore the role of race in relationships between black composers and white audiences, while raising often controversial questions of authenticity that arose among black composers and the white musicians who covered their music. However, the essay entitled “The Blues in France” by Robert Springer takes a philosophical approach to the ways “musical forms have evolved to transcend geographical, national, and possibly even racial boundaries” (xi).

The tone is very academic in nature and also may abruptly change in style from one essay to the next. Still, each of the fifteen conference papers offers information that is both insightful and impressive. It is clear that the authors have a deep appreciation and enthusiasm for their subjects while also remaining very instructive in their approach. There is much material here for music scholars, teachers, and fans to both absorb and debate.

Furthermore, Cross the Water Blues is unique in its subject matter, serving as a time capsule for European attitudes toward African American music, which is in itself a very valuable resource. Finally, each of the various contributors point out not only the importance of African American music to the wider world, but also bring forth the significance of European writers and musicians who have made efforts to both preserve it and keep it alive.

Click here to access an interesting PBS site focusing on the influence of the blues on music in Great Britain.

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