Work songs, ritual and festive music... the slavery sounds and rhythms have left a considerable mark on American popular music. In a 44-page critical essay Bruno Blum here details recordings inspired by that legacy, alongside performances of music composed in the days of slavery. He shows their influences from the Congo to the Caribbean and from Brazil to the USA. The intensity of these magnificient recordings – from songs of hope to the abolition of slavery, up to the Civil Rights movement and the flowering of free jazz – is a testimony of human resiliency. The titles included here recount the course of a major socio cultural event in our history. Patrick FRÉMEAUX