"A monumental contribution to the history of secular Black music and to the overlapping complete history of American fiddling." - Chris Goertzen, author of Rugs, Guitars, and Fiddling: Intensification and the Rich Modern Lives of Traditional Arts"I have been waiting for a book like this for several decades and am impressed by DjeDje’s broad intercontinental, cross-cultural vision and her authoritative research. Fiddling Is My Joy: The Fiddle in African American Culture not only embraces the complex, fascinating relationships among Black fiddle traditions in West Africa and those that emerged in the United States, it does so masterfully, comprehensively, and over the sweep of several centuries." - Kip Lornell, author of Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States"The details of the Black American fiddle tradition, the frequency of Black-white musical exchange involving fiddle and banjo, and the number and geographical distribution of Black fiddlers have been treated by music scholars only in passing, or presented in narrow case studies, resulting in a fragmented picture. Thus, an overall portrait of Black American fiddling has remained obscure until DjeDje’s remarkably comprehensive research which, gathered together in this volume, offers original argument as well as overwhelming evidence from a great many sources." - Jeff Todd Titon, professor emeritus of music at Brown University and author of Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes
