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Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing

by Joseph Spence

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Standard weight black vinyl album packaged in classic Folkways-style tip-on jackets with liner notes insert [note: album image is a mock-up]

    All purchases of the vinyl LP will include a Joseph Spence "The Voice from Heaven" bumper sticker designed by Darryl Norsen.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $23.98 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Compact disc with liner notes packaged in a digipak [note: album image is a mock-up]

    Includes unlimited streaming of Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $16.98 USD or more 

     

1.
2.
3.
4.
Bimini Gal 02:41
5.
The Crow 03:06
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

about

'Encore' is a new album produced from previously unheard archival recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence, made in 1965 at the height of his career. Spence’s radically innovative guitar style transformed elements of Bahamian traditional music into adventurous, joyful improvisations and influenced players worldwide. His powerful singing stemmed directly from the rhyming tradition created by Bahamian sponge fishermen early in the 20th century. The music is punctuated by Spence’s unique, sometimes otherworldly vocalizations including humming, short bursts of lyrics, and near-scat singing. Some of the recordings include singing by Spence’s sister Edith Pinder and her family members Raymond and Geneva Pinder. Producer Peter K. Siegel captured these performances at Spence’s only New York concert, at the performer’s cottage in Nassau, Bahamas, and at Siegel’s apartment in Manhattan.

credits

released July 16, 2021

Credits:
Produced by Peter K. Siegel
Guitar and singing by Joseph Spence
Singing by Edith Pinder, Raymond Pinder, Geneva Pinder
Recorded, edited, and mastered by Peter K. Siegel
Tracks 9 and 13 recorded by Peter K. Siegel and Jody Stecher

Recording data:
Track 4 (Bimini Gal) previously released as part of the Smithsonian Folkways box set Friends of Old Time Music.
Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12 recorded May 14, 1965 at the home of Peter K. Siegel, New York, NY
Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 11 recorded May 16, 1965 at a concert presented by the Friends of Old Time Music and the Newport Folk Foundation at the New School, New York, NY
Track 9 recorded June, 1965 at the home of Joseph and Louise Spence, Nassau, Bahamas
Track 13 recorded June, 1965 at the home of Edith, Raymond, and Geneva Pinder, Nassau, Bahamas
Recorded on a Nagra III-B tape recorder with a Sony C37-A microphone
Annotated by Peter K. Siegel [and Guy Droussart]
Music and culture advisor: Guy Droussart
Photography by Guy Droussart
Concert poster by John Cohen
Executive producers: Daniel E. Sheehy and John Smith
Production manager: Mary Monseur
Production assistant: Kate Harrington
Editorial assistance by James Deutsch
Art direction, design, and layout by Steve Cooley [Cooleydesignlab.com]

Special thanks to Mary Katherine Aldin, Edward Haber, Betsy Siggins, Elijah Wald, and Todd Harvey

license

all rights reserved

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Joseph Spence Nassau, The Bahamas

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