Various Artists

In a sign of how music can cross social divides, the banjo, an instrument of African origin, became integral to the folk music of Southern whites. Classic Banjo collects tracks from the Folkways label by black and white musicians associated with the folk revival, starting with Pete Seeger in 1943 and ending with a 2007 performance by Tony Trischka, an explorer of new possibilities for the instrument. Most of Classic Banjo’s recordings come from the starkly simple roots of American music, grounded in the ethos of neighbors entertaining neighbors with sung stories of love and death, hardship and hope.