Lowcountry - Lowcountry (2023)

Lowcountry is a collaborative ensemble featuring the St. Helena Island Singers (Gracie Gadsen, Rosa Murray, and Joseph Murray), drummer Quentin E. Baxter, narrator Ron Daise, and composer/trumpeter Matt White. Their self-titled debut album was made possible by a Guggenheim Fellowship Matt received in 2019 to record and re-imagine traditional Gullah songs and oral histories by developing extended compositions around field recordings of Gracie, Rosa, and Joseph for a 13-person ensemble, featuring saxophonist and South Carolina native Chris Potter.

Since 2012 Matt has been working with his research partner Dr. Eric Crawford documenting and archiving the songs and oral histories of Gullah Elders, particularly those on St. Helena Island. These songs are carried through the oral tradition, so elders who “line and raise” the songs learned the music from their elders, who learned it from their elders, and so forth. Given the remote locations of many of these communities, it can be a picture of what musical traditions sounded like far back through multiple generations.

Quentin E. Baxter is a drummer, composer, and producer who comes from a lineage of master drummers. He is a member of the two-time GRAMMY® award winning group Ranky Tanky and is one of the most important musicians in the south, performing with a variety of artists in various genres.

Ron Daise is perhaps best known as the creator and star of the children’s show “Gullah Gullah Island.” He is an author, educator, performer, and baker born and raised on St. Helena Island. He has spent his life sharing the depth and beauty of Gullah culture and traditions in a variety of mediums.

Trumpeter/Composer Matt White is the chair of jazz studies at the University of South Carolina. His music has been described as “rhythmically brash and invigorating” by the Washington Post, with “a knack for sweeping, cinematic statements” by Downbeat Magazine. His music and research work focuses on reimagining southern music traditions, in that capacity he has worked with the NEH, the National Park Service, and the SCArts Commission on various musical and educational projects.