Black Fiddlers

Black Fiddlers explores the legacy of African Americans who shaped the cultural landscape of American folklore. Director Eduardo Montes-Bradley traces the personal and family stories of violin players of African descent throughout the country, seeking common threads and throughlines. Notable performers such as David Roberts, Earl White, and Rhiannon Giddens share their individual journeys and music, and local historians and academics offer scholarly approaches that deepen and enrich an understanding and appreciation of American Folk music and culture. This documentary presents a first comprehensive account of America's rich musical history as told by Black fiddlers today. Black Fiddlers was produced by the Heritage Film Project with financial support from the Documentary Film Fund, the Early Music Access Project, and the Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Synopsis
"Black Fiddlers" begins by tracing the history of enslaved violin players in Virginia, focusing on Eston Hemings, the son of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Eston, like his brother Madison, left his Virginia home in Charlottesville and settled in Ohio in the early 1840s, where he passed as white and led a band. Later in life, Eston was recognized as the Black son of Thomas Jefferson and moved further north, adopting his father's last name, Jefferson. The film reveals Eston's grave near Madison, Wisconsin, where he is buried as Eston H. Jefferson. Other personal accounts of Black fiddlers include the story of Southworth, born a slave in Kentucky. Southworth was taken to Missouri and thence to Oregon in 1851. He purchased his freedom with gold which he dug out of the Yreka and Jacksonville mines and with money he earned by playing his violin. He fought in the Rogue River Indian War, in which he was wounded. Black Fiddlers is also anchored in the legacy of Joe Thompson and his first cousin Odell, two of the last known musicians to carry on this rich tradition and who served as mentors and inspiration to present day performers like Rhiannon Giddens and The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Black Fiddlers also delves into the debate over the origins of the violin, exploring whether it is a product of the Italian Baroque or in African roots and traditions. In the process, the film examines how the music played by African American fiddlers evolved in different parts of the United States, from Harlem, New York, to Oregon, and highlights the influence of Creole and Cajun culture on Black musicians such as Cedric Watson in New Orleans.

The narratives in "Black Fiddlers" are enriched by testimonials from several experts and performers, including Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, academic folklorist Kip Lornell, Iris Chapman Thompson, Henrique Prince, Marshall Wyatt, David Roberts, Earl White, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Howard L. Sacks and Jody Rose Sacks, Beverly Grey, and Terry Jenoure. Black Fiddlers premiered at the 35th edition of the Virginia Film Festival in November 2022.

Filming locations
Principal photography took place in Mebane; Harlem; Floyd, Northfield, Stockbridge, Mount Vernon, Portland, and Chillicothe.