John Roberts y Pan Blanco filled the Seeley Lake Community Hall with music people couldn't help but move to. Pictured (L-R): Cody Hollow, Raphael Lopez, Sam White, Matthew Devitt, John Roberts and Merle Roberts.
Merle Roberts (back) playing the Cuban Thress. It is a guitar with three tones tuned in a major triade. Historically they were built out of anything the slaves could find. Sam White (right) is playing the claves. Clave is Spanish for nail. In the 1800s the hardwood dowels were taken from ships by dockworkers. They became part of the instrumentation in the music the slaves brought to America.
SEELEY LAKE – The music of John Robert y Pan Blanco not only filled the Seeley Lake Community Hall for three hours Sunday, March 25, the rhythms and high notes could be heard in the parking lot. The six-piece ensemble had some audience members up dancing while others enjoyed moving to the blend of funk, African and Latin grooves in their seats.
This was the final concert of the 2 Valleys Stage 2017-2018 concert series. It took on a different format with Roberts giving a presentation about the history and highlighting different elements of the music for the first hour. This was much like the informance that the groups do in the local schools.
"I fell in love with this style of music because they all make people want to dance," said Roberts who danced while he wasn't singing or playing his trombone. "Once we start singing and playing, people start moving and they don't even know why they are doing it.
Roberts went on to share about the origins of music in America specifically jazz and blues, the most popular form of music America claims.
"How could we not be affected by the slave trade? How we could not be affected by African music?" Roberts asked the audience. "Both [jazz and blues] descendants of the American slave trade. Jazz especially started in New Orleans in Congo Square where slaves would congregate. The music out of New Orleans turned into the jazz, the blues, the funk, the soul, the hip-hop that we hear today."
Roberts talked about the clave rhythm and the minor pentatonic scales, both of which are foundational elements of music today. The clave rhythm is prevalent in almost all Latin-American styles and almost all American styles, especially out of New Orleans.
The minor pentatonic scale has been traced back to the pygmy region of Africa playing on one-stringed harps. The scales are now used in country, pop, funk, and classical music.
"When we talk about American music we have to talk about Africa if we are going to trace it back far enough to tie it all together," said Roberts.
Roberts shared about the various styles of music and how one style and the musical elements within led to the next big music craze.
"Musicians are always exploring and looking for something to make themselves sound different," said Roberts.
Before launching into the high-energy concert, Roberts introduced the band, all originating from Helena, Billings, and Malta, Mont. While all well studied and accomplished in the styles, he laughed at the irony of a bunch of white guys from Montana playing Afro-Cuban music.
"We realized that we've actually been playing African-based music our entire lives," said Roberts. "We just had to rearrange some of the rhythm and notes and listen to it."
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