Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae - Softcover

Manuel, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566393396 ISBN 13: 9781566393393

Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S., 1995

Synopsis

A fascinating wide-ranging survey of Carribean music forms

About this title

Review

"[T]he many helpful discographies throughout the book--not to mention the cool photographs!--contribute to making this an essential text on some of the world's most irrepressible rhythms." --Booklist "Professor Manuel is a superb ethnomusicologist with several important books to his credit. He is well versed in the intricacies of hybrid music forms on the Caribbean... This is an excellent summary volume on Caribbean music." --Raul Fernandez, Professor of Social Sciences, University of California at Irvine "This excellent book encompasses Caribbean music in all its diversity and complexity. Manuel shows a great deal of contemporary sensibility and sensitivity in covering this fertile region of world music--he is able to relate the many musical traditions present in the region to those that are present in world music today." --Juan Flores, Director, Centro de Estudio Puertoriquenos, City University of New York

Synopsis

Music is the most popular and dynamic aspect of Caribbean expressive culture. As Caribbean music has evolved from its traditional roots to its contemporary forms, it has developed a rich variety of styles. From the well-known genres salsa, merengue, reggae, calypso, and bachata to more localized forms like chutney and kaseko, this wide-ranging book surveys Caribbean music's prodigious diversity and colorful history. Enhanced with numerous illustrations and musical examples, "Caribbean Currents" is an up-to-date overview of the region's music, covering Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, Suriname, and smaller islands like Martinique and Guadeloupe. The authors provide an overview of Caribbean music its forms and innovations, its musicians, its festivals and dance halls, and its fans and trace its primarily African and European roots. They explore the modern genres' relationship to issues of race, regional diversity, gender, and socio-political conflicts. Given the international popularity of such Caribbean genres as reggae and salsa, this book is a critical resource for understanding musical styles that have become a dynamic part of world culture.

Author note: Peter Manuel is Associate Professor of Music at John Jay College and the CUNY Graduate Center. Kenneth Bilby is a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute. Michael Largey is Assistant Professor of Music at Michigan State University, East Lansing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566393396
• ISBN 13: 9781566393393
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Bilby Kenneth, Largey Michael