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World Music - General & Miscellaneous, Musicians - Interviews, General & Miscellaneous Music Biography
Global Minstrels by Elijah Wald β€” book cover

Global Minstrels

by Elijah Wald
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Overview

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 LucΓ­a, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and many more.

Synopsis

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.

About the Author, Elijah Wald

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).

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Book Details

Published
September 1, 2006
Publisher
Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Pages
336
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780415979306

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