Rank Devil Mountain: Three Smokin' Folk Tales, and: The Two Brothers: A Rockin' Musical Story Tellin' (review)
2011; Wayne State University Press; Volume: 25; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1536-1802
Autores Tópico(s)Diverse Educational Innovations Studies
ResumoRank Devil Mountain: Three Smokin' Folk Tales. Recorded by Barry Shannon. Performed by Jeff Gere. Mastered by Kelli Heath. Edited by Jeff Gere. Mana'o Radio, Maui, Hawaii Feb. 2005. CD. Two Brothers: A Rockin' Musical Story Tellin'. Don Lopez, creative engineer. Performed by Jeff Gere. Mastered by Les Adams. Polishing by Kelli Heath. Edited by Jeff Gere, Mana'o Radio, Maui, Hawai'i, April 2007. CD. In Rank Devil Mountain Hawai'i storyteller Jeff Gere presents three tales: Old Rink Rank, The Beauty, the Devil and the Shepherd, and Jack and the Evil Mountain Spirit. Two Brothers CD is Gere's personalized retelling of a Grimms tale. Gere's energized telling of these tales is accompanied by one or more of a group of musicians - Les Adams on keyboard, Sandra Lee Akaka on percussion, Vince Esquire on guitar, and Alana Cini on the didgeridoo - who together create what the liner notes call sizzlin' soundscapes. This combination of storytelling and musical talents challenges the listener to embrace a new performance aesthetic applied to the telling of traditional tales. I came to these story presentations as a folklorist living and working in the heart of Appalachia, surrounded by and well acquainted with the work of Carl Lindahl, Leonard W Roberts, and Jane Muncy Fugate. and his tales are familiar and well loved here, and his adventures have meant far more than mere entertainment for generations of Appalachian children and adults. is iconic figure in the Appalachian verbal tradition and to some degree a cultural response to common hillbilly stereotypes. He is the hero of the underdog and the downtrodden. is usually poor, without formal education, sometimes lazy, and often the youngest child, a position that reinforces his status as a second-class citizen even within his family structure. Nevertheless perseveres, and through bravery and cleverness, or sometimes dumb luck and charm, he is able to overcome the obstacles that face him and come out the winner in spite of circumstances. In the process he often saves not only himself but his brothers, princesses, and the pretty girls as well. I came to this listening event with a host of personal biases about how a tale should sound. My previous experience as a listener and teller of and other kinds of tales has led me to focus on the story and on the skill of the teller to set the mood and to move the story through to its conclusion. Gere, with his use of soundscapes, expands and sometimes fragments the focus of the listener to include not only the story and the teller but also the musicians as well as the overall style of the telling event. This fragmenting of focus was the most challenging element for me, as a more traditional teller and listener, to appreciate. On his website Gere describes the process he calls tune telling as an exercise in tumbling gracefully beyond the borders of your box of comfort. It is jumping offa cliff with friends, who create, challenge, and support this falling. And then, do it again (www.jeffgere.com/jg2/index.php?option=com_content& view=article&id=67:duets-tunes-n-tales-&catid=36:articles&Itemid=72). Gere is definitely a powerful teller in his own right, and the musicians are talented at echoing, reacting, and creating emotional tone for these story performances. …
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