Italys folk music tradition is merged with jazz rock and world influences to create the lively dance music of Tuscany-born melodeon diatonic accordion player Riccardo Tesi In addition to performing as a soloist and with French mandolin player Patrick…

Along with Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mutabaruka (born Allan Hope) is one of reggae's foremost "dub poets." In a musical framework of roots reggae and dub, he spins poetic narratives full of strong socio-political messages. His landmark 1982 debut album, …

b. Maximo Francisco Repilado Munoz, 18 November 1907, Siboney, Cuba, d. 13 July 2003, Havana, Cuba. He moved to Santiago (birthplace of "son", Cuba's national musical style) at the age of seven, and by the age of 13 he was playing guitar and tres (Cu…

b Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, USA. A highly regarded US musician and DJ/producer in the deep house field, Yost's individual blend of jazz and house can be attributed to his musical upbringing, where he was introduced to jazz music at an early age. He t…

Raised in Cameroon, torn between the divisive ethnic groups of his mother's and father's families, Manu Dibango was easily distracted from the traditions of his homeland. As a world traveler and alto saxophonist, he soaked up diverse influences, incl…

While tango had long been associated with the dancehalls of Buenos Aires, Astor Piazolla reinvented the music for the concert stage. In the 1950s and 1960s, he infused tango with the oblique harmonies of jazz and classical music, as well as new instr…

Hull-based duo Fila Brazillia is the most popular and acclaimed of the noted Pork Recordings stable Formed in 1990 by producers Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry Fila followed Cobbys association with Ashley Jackson a moderately successful popdance group…

b. 1970, London, England. Talvin Singh is one of the first artists to help bring traditional Indian tabla music to the mainstream, combining it with the rhythmic surges of drum 'n' bass. By 1997, he was able to speak in an assured fashion about the h…

Straight out of Vienna, Austria, Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister dipped into trip-hop, acid jazz, dub, and more to become premier remixers, working with everyone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Depeche Mode. Equally accomplished as musicians, they …

Of all the Beatles, Paul McCartney was by far the most successful as a solo act. While many (including John Lennon) dismissed his post-Beatles output as lightweight pap, Paul's extraordinary popularity spoke for itself. "Mull of Kintyre" was for a ti…

Future ruling ragga DJ Beenie Man cut his first single at the age of 8, and by the time he was 10 had cut a full album with producer Bunny Lee! After a period of woodshedding, he returned to regular recording in the early 90s. In 1994 he began scor…

A fearless sonic adventurer, Icelandic songstress Bjork first appeared prominently on the musical map in 1988 with LIFE'S TOO GOOD, the debut album of her band, the Sugarcubes. Four years later, the group split, and Bjork wasted no time in working on…

A native of Calcutta India Sanjay Mishra mixes instrumentation from both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere with modern rhythms He has released several albums Blue Incantation includes the guitar services of longtime fan Jerry Garcia Crossing followe…

b. 31 December 1963, Lhasa, Tibet. The eldest of six children (two of whom died of malnutrition), Lhamo worked as a carpet weaver as a young girl, but was encouraged to concentrate on singing by her mother and grandmother. In 1989 Lhamo, along with h…