Global Minstrels Voices of World Music

"Global Minstrels: The World of World Music" introduces today's leading performers from around the world. From urban nightclubbers dancing to salsa to suburbanites relaxing with Cuban and Brazilian melodies, to the host of pop and rock stars who have added international flavors to their music, "world" sounds have become part of the basic fabric of American life. At the same time, in every American city, immigrants have used musical gatherings as a way to bring their communities together. Including conversations with dozens of artists from five continents, "Global Minstrels" explores the breadth of the world music experience through the voices of the musicians themselves. In the process, it gives a unique view of the interactions of a globalizing society and introduces readers to some of the most fascinating and thoughtful artists working on the current scene.
Profiled artists include Ladysmith Black Mambazo; King Sunny Ade, The Mighty Sparrow, Reuben Blades, Los Tigres del Norte, Gilberto Gil, Dick Gaughan, Alan Stivell, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, The Gipsy Kings, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, and many more.
Global Minstrels will strongly appeal to the world music audience, from academic ethnomusicologists to general listeners who enjoy this new, vibrant musical style.

As the fastest growing sector of the U.S. music market, world music has embedded itself in the fabric of American life. Artists such as Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon and the Talking Heads have all utilized characteristics of the "world" sound in their music, while international performers are enjoying unexpected fame in the U.S. At the same time, in an era of unprecedented immigration and globalization, people all over the world are using music as way to preserve their local and ethnic identity. Global Minstrels: Voices of World Music is an accessible introduction to international music and culture. Including conversations with dozens of artists from five continents, it explores the breadth of the world music experience through the voices of the musicians themselves. In the process, it gives a unique view of the interactions of a globalizing society and introduces readers to some of the most fascinating and thoughtful artists working on the current scene. Artists profiled include Oumou Sangare, Caetano Veloso, Ravi Shankar, Paco de Lucía, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and many more.

Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction Section One: Africa South Africa: Ladysmith Black Mambazo Zimbabwe: Ephat Mujuru and Stella Chiweshe Mali: Ali Farka Touré Oumou Sangare Salif Keita Congo: Tabu Ley Rochereau Lucien Bokilo Kenya: Fadhili William Nigeria: Sir Victor Uwaifo King Sunny Ade Madagascar: Tarika Sammy Cape Verde: The Mendes Brothers Section Two: The Caribbean Haiti: Tabou Combo Emeline Michel Trinidad: Mighty Sparrow Dominican Republic: María Díaz Fulanito Puerto Rico: El Gran Combo Yomo Toro New York: Rubén Blades Cuba: Eliades Ochoa and Compay Segundo Juan de Marcos González Los Van Van Charanga Habanera and Gema Cuatro Section Three: Latin America Argentina: Mercedes Sosa Sandra Luna Peru: Susana Baca Brazil: Gilberto Gil Caetano Veloso Olodum Daniela Mercury Mexico: Los Tigres del Norte Section Four: Europe Portugal: Mísia Greece: George Dalaras Haris Alexiou Turkey: Barbaros Erköse Italy: Paolo Conte Hungary: Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén Kálmán Balogh Scotland: Norman Kennedy Dick Gaughan France: Alan Stivell Afro-Europeans: Zap Mama Les Nubians Section Five: Spain and Flamenco Northern Spain: La Musgaña Flamenco: Carmen Cortés and Manuel Soler Paco de Lucía Carmen Linares Rumba: Gipsy Kings Arab fusions: Radio Tarifa Section Six: North Africa and the Arab World Andalusian music: Hadj Mohamed Tahar Fergani Morocco: The Master Musicians of Jajouka Algeria: Khaled Classical music: Simon Shaheen and Naseer Shemma Iraq: Mahmood Anwar Section Seven: Western and Central Asia Turkey: Cinucen Tanrikorur Iran: Kayhan Kalhor Pakistan: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan India: The Bauls of Bengal North Indian classical: Ali Akbar Khan Ravi Shankar Section Eight: East Asia China: Wu Man Japan: Ondekoza and Kodo Section Nine: The United States Hawaii: Raymond Kane Dennis Kamakahi Native American: Iron River Singers Mexican: Jesse Morales El Original de la Sierra Index

Elijah Wald is a writer and musician who speaks several languages and has travelled widely around the world, first as a hitchhiking street musician and later as a somewhat more serious researcher. His books include Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues (2004); Narcocorrido: A Journey into t he Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas (2001); Josh White: Society Blues (2000, 2002) and River of Song: Music Along the Mississippi (1998; with John Junkerman).