Friday, July 1, 2011

Music From Around The World Will Jazz Up Your Repertoire

By Stacie Allison


From its indigent roots, music from around the world has come into its own. In an increasingly globalized multi-culture, we have access to musical styles that in former decades would have required extensive travel to appreciate. During the eighties, pop stars like Sting and Paul Simon corroborated with musicians from around the globe adding depth to their individual sounds. With intriguing embellishments from third-world musicians, Western genres expanded.

With a varied geography and instrumentation, the indigenous roots are defying categorization as cultures assimilate. What may have once been a pure traditional form, is taking on nuance and variety as musicians access other styles from other regions. Musicians are going eclectic.

International artists now regularly tour England and North America. They may begin in small venues but are beginning to fill larger concert halls. They are opening for major recording acts, and with that exposure, acquiring new audiences.

Whether your taste is for Tibetan chants, Japanese koto, Indian raga, Jamaican reggae or the Celtic harp, it can all be found in record stores. Festivals abound in Europe, Canada and the United States. They showcase musical styles and rhythms that perhaps ten years ago no one had an understanding of. South America exports stylish bands that take America by storm.

With this hybridization, the genre has had to expand its classification and there are now labels such as World Fusion, Global Fusion, Ethnic Fusion and Club Beat. These terms may be considered sub-genres of pop, rock and jazz. It has gone beyond its pure roots to embrace a more diverse, broader approach with more depth.

The one place that is thoroughly behind this amalgamation is Paris. With large West and North African populations, as well as Algerian and Moroccan, an intense appreciation for differing musical styles proliferates. Add a culture with strong institutional support for the arts and you have a lively scene. Middle Eastern sounds, especially Persian, are on the rise in the United States. Jamaican Reggae has been thoroughly assimilated.

A great way to learn about what is being produced is by visiting the Internet. It is a great source of information on what is new and exciting as well as an archive of indigenous music. You can listen to a diverse collection of sounds, purchase CDs or MP3s, find out where the festivals are taking place this summer and expand your musical horizons in numerous ways. With stunning photography, you can do some armchair traveling.

If those old Rolling Stone records are wearing thin, if you have heard Led Zeppelin one too many times, if you think Pink Floyd could use another brick in the wall, expand your horizons with exhilarating music from around the world. A jolt of unexpected rhythm may be just the thing to get your mojo working, your fingers snapping and your heart pumping. Globalization has its perks.




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