During the 1920s and 1930s, many African American musicians were still rooted in string-band traditions of the previous century, an era when the fiddle was king. Yet even the best of those players were seldom recruited by the record labels, due to marketing strategies that favored white fiddlers. Fortunately, black fiddlers and string bands were not entirely ignored by the industry. Some of them, through persistence or luck, were able to record their dance tunes, folk songs, ballads, blues and breakdowns. Here on this album are fourteen rare and noteworthy examples of African American fiddle music, or, to coin an expression, "fiddle noir." Includes a deluxe full color 8 page booklet.