b. October 1st, 1919 in Como (Mississippi)
d. July 21st, 2001 in Senatobia (Mississippi)
COMPLETE RECORDINGS
Blue Eye blog (only on mp3)
August 1967 - October 1980
Ami de Fred Mac Dowell, Napoleon fut un représentant essentiel de cette tradition campagnarde du "Fife and drum band". Initié à la musique par son père, il joue progressivement guitare, percussion, harmonica, fifre. Métayer durant toute sa vie, il n'eut jamais l'opportunité de graver un album complet. En revanche, ses morceaux apparurent de manière éparse sur différentes anthologies proposées par les labels Arhoolie, Testament, L+R ou Fat Possum. Les premiers titres furent gravés par l'ethnomusicologue George Mitchell en aout 1967 en compagnie d'Othar Turner. Puis, ce seront Alan Lomax, David Evans, Chris Strachwitz, William Ferris qui se relaieront les années qui suivent pour enregistrer sa musique, parfois à son domicile. Ainsi, jusqu'en 1972, Napoleon enregistre relativement régulièrement des pièces rudimentaires et hypnotiques typiques du "Fife and drum". Ensuite, il faudra attendre aout 1978 pour que John Bishop, Worth Long et Alan Lomax ne reviennent le voir chez lui et le filment. Ses derniers morceaux enregistrés datent de 1979 et 1980 (parfois aux côtés de Jessie Mae Hemphill) par les chercheurs allemands Axel Küstner et Siegfried Christmann. Bien qu'il semble resté actif jusqu'à la fin de sa vie (et ce malgré un grave accident de voiture au milieu des années 80), il ne sera plus enregistré. Grâce à Gérard Herzhaft, son oeuvre constituée d'une trentaine de titres a été rassemblée et rendue disponible.
A friend of Fred McDowell, Napoleon was a key figure in the rural "Fife and drum band" tradition. Introduced to music by his father, he gradually learned to play guitar, percussion, harmonica, fife. A sharecropper his entire life, he never had the opportunity to record a full album. However, his tracks appeared sporadically on various anthologies released by labels such as Arhoolie, Testament, L+R or Fat Possum. His first tracks were recorded by ethnomusicologist George Mitchell in august 1967 alongside Othar Turner. In the years that followed, Alan Lomax, David Evans, Chris Strachwitz, William Ferris took turns recording his music, sometimes at his home. Thus, until 1972, Napoleon recorded relatively regularly, producing the raw hypnotic pieces typical of the "Fife and drum". It was not until august 1978 that John Bishop, Worth Long and Alan Lomax returned to visit and film him at his home. His final recordings, made in 1979 and 1980 (sometimes alongside Jessie Mae Hemphill), were captured by german researchers Axel Küstner and Siegfried Christmann. Although he appears to have remained active until the end of his life (despite a serious car accident in the mid 1980's), he was never recorded again. Thanks to Gérard Herzhaft, his body of work, comprising around thirty tracks, has been compiled and made available.