Alan Lomax : NPR

Arts & Life

Library of Congress Unites Work of Alan Lomax

March 24, 2004 • The Library of Congress unites the legendary folklorist's recordings of world cultures with the documentaries he and his father made of the American South. NPR's Felix Contreras reports.

Library of Congress Unites Work of Alan Lomax

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Folklorist Alan Lomax: Everyone Has A Story

In 1959, Alan Lomax traveled through the American South to record the stories of folk musicians. Shirley Collins/Library of Congress hide caption

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Shirley Collins/Library of Congress

History

Folklorist Alan Lomax: Everyone Has A Story

Fresh Air

January 7, 2011 • Lomax, the subject of a new biography by John Szwed, spent more than a half-century recording folk music and customs around the world. In 1990, he spoke to Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the decades he spent compiling sound recordings from around the world.

Folklorist Alan Lomax: Everyone Has A Story

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Alan Lomax Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Music Interviews

Alan Lomax: Recording The World

January 8, 2011 • Alan Lomax was said to have brought on a musical revolution. He devoted his life to recording folk music from around the world, traveling everywhere from Mississippi to Japan searching for folk songs to record. A new book by John Szwed looks at Lomax's legacy.

Alan Lomax: Recording The World

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Music

Major U.S. Folk Music Archive Makes Online Debut

May 9, 2012 • Alan Lomax's collection of folk music recordings was recently made available online and it's already influencing contemporary musicians. Host Michel Martin talks with Geoffrey Clairfield of the Association for Cultural Equity, and Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops about the online archive and the music it's inspiring.

Major U.S. Folk Music Archive Makes Online Debut

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Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online

Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960. Shirley Collins/Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive hide caption

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Shirley Collins/Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive

The Record

Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online

March 28, 2012 • More than 17,000 sound recordings made by the famed folklorist are now available, for free.

Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online

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Trumpeter Papa Celestin (left) and clarinetist Alphonse Picou in 1950. Stanley Kubrick/'LOOK' Magazine/Library Of Congress hide caption

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Stanley Kubrick/'LOOK' Magazine/Library Of Congress

A Blog Supreme

Alan Lomax And The Beginning Of Jazz

May 19, 2011 • In 1949, the music historian went to New Orleans to talk to the scene's elder statesmen about Jelly Roll Morton and the first days of jazz. You can hear all that audio online now.