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Music Across Continents

When these happened

25 dated records from 822 to 2005. Each is drawn as wide as its date is certain — a band is a band because nobody knows the year, not because the drawing is imprecise.

90010001100120013001400150016001700180019002000Ziryāb arrives at the Umayyad court of Córdoba — 822A European lute is depicted in the Libro de los juegos — c. 1283Granada falls and the Andalusi repertoire crosses to the Maghreb — 1492The transatlantic trade in enslaved people operates — c. 1501 – 1866Hans Sloane records gourd lutes in Jamaica — 1687–1688The Stono Rebellion — 1739-09-09The South Carolina Negro Act prohibits drums — 1740-05-10Jefferson names the banjar and its origin — 1781New Orleans confines Sunday gatherings to Congo Square — 1817Blackface performers take up the banjo — 1830sEdison demonstrates recorded and reproduced sound — 1877Berliner patents the gramophone — 1887-11-08W. C. Handy hears a guitarist at Tutwiler station — c. 1903Son travels from Oriente to Havana — c. 1909The Great Migration — 1916–1970"Pelo Telefone" is registered — 1916-11-27The first jazz record is made — 1917-02-26Mamie Smith records "Crazy Blues" — 1920-08-10KDKA broadcasts — 1920-11-02Victor and Columbia adopt electrical recording — 1925The Kumasi Trio record in London — 1928The Lomaxes record Lead Belly at Angola — 1933-07Alan Lomax records Jelly Roll Morton at the Library of Congress — 1938Muddy Waters is recorded at Stovall Farm — 1941The American Folklife Center acquires the Alan Lomax Collection — 2004
25 shown · 25 dated · 0 cannot be placed on an axis · Approximate or contested. Draw a band and do not sharpen its edges.
In order25
  1. 822Ziryāb arrives at the Umayyad court of Córdoba

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  2. c. 1283A European lute is depicted in the Libro de los juegos

    Sources disagree, or the dating is contested. Stated, not resolved.

  3. 1492Granada falls and the Andalusi repertoire crosses to the Maghreb

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  4. c. 1501 – 1866The transatlantic trade in enslaved people operates

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  5. 1687–1688Hans Sloane records gourd lutes in Jamaica

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  6. 1739-09-09The Stono Rebellion

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  7. 1740-05-10The South Carolina Negro Act prohibits drums

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  8. 1781Jefferson names the banjar and its origin

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  9. 1817New Orleans confines Sunday gatherings to Congo Square

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  10. 1830sBlackface performers take up the banjo

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  11. 1877Edison demonstrates recorded and reproduced sound

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  12. 1887-11-08Berliner patents the gramophone

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  13. c. 1903W. C. Handy hears a guitarist at Tutwiler station

    Sources disagree, or the dating is contested. Stated, not resolved.

  14. c. 1909Son travels from Oriente to Havana

    Sources disagree, or the dating is contested. Stated, not resolved.

  15. 1916–1970The Great Migration

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  16. 1916-11-27"Pelo Telefone" is registered

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  17. 1917-02-26The first jazz record is made

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  18. 1920-08-10Mamie Smith records "Crazy Blues"

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  19. 1920-11-02KDKA broadcasts

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  20. 1925Victor and Columbia adopt electrical recording

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  21. 1928The Kumasi Trio record in London

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  22. 1933-07The Lomaxes record Lead Belly at Angola

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  23. 1938Alan Lomax records Jelly Roll Morton at the Library of Congress

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  24. 1941Muddy Waters is recorded at Stovall Farm

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  25. 2004The American Folklife Center acquires the Alan Lomax Collection

    It happened, and the record is settled.