Minstrel banjo maker Jim Hartel reveals another side of this distinctive instrument, pursuing a tradition rooted in American slave instruments brought from West Africa. Photos by Madison Metro.

The arms moved with the melodic instruments, especially the fiddle ... and American dance traditions to create the minstrel dances MacLowry and Hager wanted for Stephen Foster.

Joel Walker Sweeney (1810-1860), the country’s first “pop minstrel show artist,” introduced the five-string banjo to ...