John Carter - Dauwhe (Black Saint, 1982)

 This post is by Dan

John Carter (cl); Bobby Bradford (cor); Red Callender (tba); James Newton (fl, bfl); Charles Owens (ss, ob, cl); Roberto Miranda (b); William Jeffrey (d); Luis Peralta (waterphone, perc)

Recorded February 25 and 27 and March 8, 1982

Dauwhe is the first of five albums in John Carter's series designated as "Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music." Each suite in the series honors an aspect of African-American experience, beginning with the African origins. As Carter's liner notes explain, Dauwhe was a goddess of happiness in ancient African mythology, "watching over her subjects with thoughtfulness and providing whatever Godly assistance necessary for their happiness and well being." 

The music on Dauwhe, all original compositions by Carter, presents itself theatrically as the progression of episodes unfold. Some are raucous, others gentle, but all contribute meaningfully to the story being told. The portrait is not one of innocent people living a peaceful life before their involuntary migration to the west. Rather, it is varied like life itself, regardless of place or history. We are presented with a benevolent goddess, a flower maiden, mating rituals, and dances. This is not African music, per se. Rather, Carter renders the African experience through very modern concepts that support a range of emotions, some wild and intense, others serene. Throughout, Carter, Bobby Bradford, and James Newton are the primary voices in the ensemble, although key roles are played by Red Callender's tuba, Roberto Miranda's bass, and the percussionists. 

The other titles in the series are Castles of Ghana (1985), Dance of the Love Ghosts (1986), Fields (1988), and Shadows on a Wall (1989). (We will be covering Castles of Ghana in a later post). All are recorded on the Gramavision label. The entire sequence is one of the major extended works of the decade and a brilliant achievement for Carter and his octet, which shifts in personnel and size over the course of the five suites in the series. Dauwhe sets the stage for the whole sequence, which Carter completed just a few years before his death in 1991 at the age of 61.