Robert Garfias was born in San Francisco in 1932, the child of Mexican-American parents. As a youngster he studied classical guitar and jazz saxophone. In high school he studied Western classical music composition, and he formed a jazz combo that played gigs for beatniks in the North Beach area of San Francisco, where he traveled in a circle of musicians that included Dave Brubeck, Vince Delgado, Vince Guaraldi, Harry Partch, and Bill Smith. During his career he founded the ethnomusicology program at the University of Washington; served as Dean of Arts at the University of California, Irvine, as a member of the Smithsonian Council, and as a presidential appointee to the U.S. National Council for the Arts; and conducted significant periods of fieldwork and language study in Japan, Okinawa, Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Central America, Burma, Romania, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, and among Okinawans in the United States.
- Society for Ethnomusicology Newsletter (Vol. 7, No. 4, September 2013)
Contents (information taken from notes on tape boxes; see Finding Aid for detailed transcription of notes):
Tape 1 - T. Viswanathan - demonstration of Carnatic flute (45:11)
Tape 2 - T. Viswanathan - UCLA (27:20)
Tape 3 - T. Viswanathan and T. Ranganathan, 8/12/61 (58:47)
Tape 4 - T. Viswanathan (42:20)
Tape 5 - 12/30/65 - T. Viswanathan/flute; Nagarajan/Kanjira; master tape recorded in Madras at Balasaraswati's home (16:05)
Tape 6 - Swaminatha [sp.?] Pillai/flute; T. Ramanathan/mridangam (1:03:39)
Tape 7 - Balasaraswathi House Concert; recorded by Robert Brown in Madras, probably 1958; with T. Ranganathan, T. Viswanathan, Jaymal (Bala's mother) singing (1:05:39)
Tape 8 - Balasaraswthi House Concert; Chatur Lal; Madras 1958 (continued) (1:05:30)
Tape 9 - "Bala's Dance Tape Restricted" (46:22)
Tape 10 - India Ashoka Hotel [appears to be an orchestra playing in the hotel lounge or ballroom] (12:38)
Note: Tapes 1-10 digitized January-March 2014 (48 kHz, 24-bit); total duration of these 10 tapes = 5:22:00)
Tapes 11-23 have not been digitized or previewed; contents information from notes on tape boxes:
Tape 11 - "India - Drums 9/25/61" / "Tabla and pakawaj demonstration recorded in India 1958 by Robert G. Brown / Mridangam lessons performed by T. Ranganathan recorded 1958 by Robert Brown"
Tape 12 - "Old Indian 78s" / [detailed listing of contents but no record/company numbers on back of tape box]
Tape 13 - [note inserted in tape box] "Copies of old 78 rpm records made in India during the late 1940s" [ragas and performers listed listed but no record/company numbers]
Tape 14 - "Dutta Wednesday / Dub of studio master / Henry Jacobs / Studio Recording / Kanai Dutta, tabla (Ravi Shankar - announcing)"
Tape 15 - "Indian Singing II / South Indian singing examples (frags)" "mostly Viswa - some Viswa and Ranga"
Tape 16 - "India - Mahalingan - Ali Akbar" [detailed contents list on back of tape box]
Tape 17 - "Ranganayaki - Ranganathan I" Garfias note - "Original UW concert" [contents listed on back of tape box]
Tape 18 - "Ranganayaki - Ranganathan II" "Slokam"
Tape 19 - "Bala 12/6/62 1/2 UCLA / with lecture by Robert Brown and demo"
Tape 20 - "Bala Dec 7 1962" "#355 - III / #356 - IV"
Tape 21 - "#357 Bala Dec 7 concludes / 358 Dec 8 Beginning / #360 last selection of Dec 8 / Slokam"
Tape 22 - "#359 Bala Dec 8"
Tape 23 - Garfias note - "Henry Jacobs / Master / Ravi Shankar / Raga Lalit"
Documentation: Finding Aid
Access is restricted.