Hannibal Lokumbe: "The most sacred place I've ever heard music performed in is a cotton field in Elgin, Texas."

New Music USA
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Frank J. Oteri's conversation with composer/trumpeter/raconteur/poet/community activist/force of nature Hannibal Lokumbe is a roller coaster ride that is part testimonial, part reminiscence, part philosophical manifesto, and part performance art, but all pure emotion, as you will see in this video presentation by Molly Sheridan. He explains where he found the sounds that inform his music, how "the spiritual land mass of humanity is music," and why he feels there is "no us and them" between musicians and the audience. To read their entire conversation, please visit NewMusicBox: http://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/hannibal-lokumbe-always-go-with-the-feeling.

From the interview:

FJO: I was hoping you could explain what that means to you and how—if other musicians and composers, as well as concert presenters and others are mindful to that—it could result in a different experience in making music.

HL: Well, my initial encounter with music was in the kitchen of my mother and my grandmother, but collectively, it was in the cotton fields of Elgin, Texas. So I saw no “us” and “them,” you know, it was all us. And to this day, the most sacred place I’ve ever heard music performed in is a cotton field in Elgin, Texas. So I don’t let a room take that from me, take from me the fact that my grandfather would sing a certain pitch when the sun is over your head and it’s unbearable. He would say [sings], “I love the Lord; he heard my cry.” Then the rest of us would say [sings], “I love the Lord. He heard my cry.” Then he said [sings], “Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me.” Then somebody said [sings], “Yes, Lord. Mercy. Yes, Lord.” But because I’m sitting in a box seat at Carnegie Hall or the Kimmel Center, if I feel that presence of the ancestors in what I have struggled and given my blood to produce, I can’t say, “Yes, Lord.” I can’t say, “Yeah, Hallelujah.” If I can’t say that, then something’s wrong. Then all that I experienced is a lie. All that I experienced is nothing. All that I’ve experienced is second to any other culture, and I don’t see that. So if I feel the need to testify, that’s what I’m gonna do! And I always encourage the people to do the same, because what would it be without the people?

The spiritual Pangaea of humanity:

Of course, there was Pangaea. The physical example of the oneness of everything and everyone—that’s Pangaea. That was the land mass. Well, the spiritual land mass of humanity is music. No matter where you go, you’ll hear a common human tonality if you listen for it. But if you go saying what I hear is greater than this, you won’t hear the commonality. You’ll miss out on all that richness. Music is the spiritual Pangaea of humanity.

There's much more at the link.