By Marta Valdés To stop reading has rarely been so difficult to me like now, when it’s almost Sunday and the moment draws near to…
Sindo Garay: Memories of a troubadour
Category: Book Reviews
An Enthralling Portrait of Fela
Nigerian musician and band leader Fela Kuti was one of the most influential African musicians in the past decades. He has become a legendary figure…
Border Techno
Nor-tec Rifa!: Electronic Dance Music from Tijuana to the World by Alejandro L. Madrid (Oxford University Press) Border towns are fascinating urban centers, which are…
Peter Cox’s Set into Song
Take a communist playwright, actor, singer, and songwriter and introduce him to a young American musician and singer half his age. They fall in love.…
Rich History of the Beginnings of the Tango
Tango Voices Songs from the Soul of Buenos Aires and Beyond Compiled and Edited by Donald Cohen Wise Publications New Yorker attorney, history and music…
Required Reggae Reading
Roger Steffens and Peter Simon – Reggae Scrapbook (Insight Editions, 2007) I don’t get hooked on many books, but two that caught my attention and…
Sensational Knowledge Embodying Culture Through Japanese Dance
Ethnomusicologist and dancer Tomie Hahn delves into the process of immersing oneself and incorporating the cultural knowledge of the nihon buyo, the traditional Japanese dance…
All About Dub
A new genre called Dub was created in Jamaica in the 1970s when recording engineers “deconstructed” popular songs. Dub is in reality the art of…
All About the Gnawa
Deborah Kapchan has spent years studying the music of the Gnawa and its relationship with the recording industry. Her book Traveling Spirit Master is an…
When the Timbales Are Dreaming
Master timbalero Ernesto Puente was a legendary figure in 20th century Latin music. for decades he performed with the biggest and most influential names in…