Folk songs are by nature collaborative, evolving as people choose and change them. Banjo player Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project (a celebration of the centennial of field recordist Alan Lomax’s birth) speaks to that by bringing together a group of musicians who reimagine the songs in Lomax’s archives in what Stone calls a “collaboratory.”
Those hankering for the sound of raw voices on dusty old acetate should look elsewhere: the group takes a decidedly contemporary approach, the songs suffering at times from an overabundance of prettiness and careful professionalism. (Compare their restrained, almost jazzy Goodbye, Old Paint with the more off-the-cuff version by Pharis and Jason Romero from earlier this year.)
Yet the Lomax Project lets loose on a few tunes, including unrehearsed instrumentals Hog Went Through The Fence, Yoke And All and Julie And Joe. The collection hints at the impressive breadth of Lomax’s work: West Indian calypso (Burty Boula For Me) alongside sea shanties, a Scottish traveller ballad and an a cappella riddle Lomax recorded in Virginia.
Stone’s thoughtful notes on the songs are almost worth the price of admission.
Top track: The Devil’s Nine Questions
Listen here. Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project plays Koerner Hall Friday (May 8).