John Cohen

An expansive survey of American musical subcultures that steadfastly refuse to be blanded by mainstream consciousness.

Examination of warp pattern weaving in Peru, an ancient Andean Indian tradition handed down from woman to woman for some 5,000 years.

A film by Yasha Aginsky This hour-long documentary celebrates fifty years of the New Lost City Ramblers (Mike Seeger, John Cohen, Tracy Schwarz and Tom Paley.) Among the first urban musicians to seriously pursue the old-time music traditions of the American South, the New Lost City Ramblers became stars of the 1960s folk revival, appearing at Newport Folk Festival and touring widely in the U.S. and Europe. They inspired generations of younger musicians to explore America’s traditional music, from elder statesman Bob Dylan to banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck to the contemporary African-American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, all of whom participated in the film. ALWAYS BEEN A RAMBLER reveals the Ramblers as musicologists as well as expert musicians, showing them side-by-side with traditional musicians including Dock Boggs, Maybelle Carter, and Doc Watson.

Exploration of the way of life of the Q’eros Indians of Peru, who have lived in the Andes for more than 3,000 years.

This musical portrait of immigrant clarinetist Pericles Halkias and the Epirot-Greek community explores the aspirations and ambivalences of Greek-Americans. Moving between Queens, New York and northern Greece, it presents the traditional music of Epirus, showing how the music unites the Epirot community around the world. The film defines America not as a melting pot, but rather as a place to make a better living. The Epirots who earn their living here have their hearts planted firmly in the mountains of Greece.

A portrait of the folk music, culture and lifestyle of the people of Qeros, high in the Peruvian mountains.

The poignant songs of church-goers, miners, and farmers of Hazard in eastern Kentucky express the joys and sorrows of life among the rural poor. John Cohen of the old-time string band the New Lost City Ramblers evocatively illustrates how music and religion help Appalachians maintain their dignity and traditions in the face of change and hardship. Featuring the noted banjo picker Roscoe Holcomb.

Explores the importance of music-making in the life of a pulp mill worker in rural Maine.

Roscoe Holcomb was one of America’s greatest banjo players, a musician whose haunting vocal intonations, Old Regular Baptist in tradition, gave Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton the chills and gave John Cohen’s 1963 film High Lonesome Sound its name. Drawing on footage he shot in 1962 and 1974 in Daisy, Kentucky, Cohen made this incredibly moving portrait of Holcomb, for whom the holy spirit always rose up plain and true: “Sometimes, you know, you feel like playing certain songs. I feel like playing the old banjo, I feel like playing some religious songs. I sit down, I feel lonesome. I could play you some of these old religious songs and it just fits me plumb through. Or I could pick up the guitar—the guitar is mostly for the blues. It’s just according to what a man feels, what he’s got on his mind.” His body ravaged by a life in the coal mines and sawmills, Roscoe Holcomb died in 1981 at the age of 68. — Museum of Modern Art

Scotland’s Gypsies have lived outside mainstream society for more than 500 years. Although some of the “Travelling People” still live by the sides of roads, most live today in houses and are under pressure to abandon their culture. This film celebrates their traditional music, especially the long unaccompanied British ballads that date back hundreds of years and have been handed down by memory through the generations.

A rare filmed performance of the two titular members of the Carter Family.

A colorful portrait of life in Putnam County, New York, with its "old-time fiddlers, farmers, commuters, and hippies," where an earlier, more traditional, relaxed style of life continues. This now-classic documentary will generate discussion in a range of classes in American studies, cultural anthropology, sociology, and popular culture. It was produced by renowned filmmaker and musician John Cohen.

John Cohen, founding member of the ‘50s folk troupe the New Lost City Ramblers, started making films in order to bring together the two disciplines he was heavily active in: music and photography. The End of an Old Song brings us to North Carolina, and demonstrates the power of old English ballads sung with gusto while soused in a saloon.