The typical history lesson wouldn't cite Memphis and Muscle Shoals as historical sites, nor Solomon Burke and Maceo Parker as contributing professors. But this isn't just any history lesson-it's the history of soul, and it's coming to the classroom of Durham for a special seven-concert semester. For six weeks Duke will be the host of Soul Power, a festival that combines seven concerts with conversations, talks, a Nasher exhibition and a DJ performance to channel the past traditions and new directions of American soul music.
As far as past traditions go, Gospel music is the predecessor of modern hip-hop, R&B and what are today called "neo-soul" artists like Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo and Joss Stone. Confronted with how to do this undeniably rich history justice, director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald saw the Soul Power festival as a way capture what is essentially the wellspring of soul music.
"We were trying to book a series that looked at soul music and tried to put it in some historical context with regards to what came before, what was its peak and how it impacts the music that comes after it," explained Greenwald.
In addition to its musical importance, the Soul Power festival also fits with Barkley L. Hendrick's Nasher exhibition, The Birth of Cool, which attempts to capture the essence of the movement in more than one medium.
"The soul aesthetic has to do with politics and music while merging into visual arts. It's not a museum piece, it's alive on its own," said Greenwald.
This weekend's performance includes one of the Philly soul scene's most prominent contributors, King Britt and the Sylk130 Collective. Britt's success with the Grammy Award-winning Digable Planets have earned him international prominence as a DJ and mixer.
Getting his start at Silk City in Philadelphia, Britt watched such heavyweight artists as Jill Scott, The Roots and Erykah Badu pass through on their way to the top. The Sylk130 Collective became the house band for the club in the early '90s in one of the most prominent hubs of soul music. This Saturday, King Britt calls together the Sylk130 Collective featuring Lady Alma Horton and Jaguar Wright for the world premiere of a Philly Soul Tribute.
"King is interesting because he was really part of that neo soul resurgence in Philly. Most of those artists came from there. He has really been exploring how a DJ fits into soul, and how you look at that classic sound and make it new," said Greenwald.
Jaguar Wright, who is featured as a vocalist with the Collective, is famous in her own right for both her solo career and as singing backup for Jay-Z's Unplugged performance.
The Soul Power festival is a history lesson cloaked in the fabulous furs and majesty of King Solomon Burke and the influential civil rights soundtrack of Mavis Staples. It is not only the legendary music of the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Dixie Hummingbirds that takes part in the discourse, but also the evolved "neo-soul" and hip-hop of ?uestlove of the Roots and Durham's own Ninth Wonder. The goals of the festival are to trace the musical traditions of the South from gospel to hip-hop, with soul as the ever-present link.
"We want our students and community to understand that this is a music with a deep lineage and history to which the musicians adhere," Greenwald said. "Whether you're listening to Amy Winehouse, The Roots or Anthony Hamilton, there's a history to that music that keeps re-inventing itself."
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