First published in 1994 in one volume. An A-Z of the music, musicians and discs. 2006 edition available as an e-book.

The Rough Guide to World Music Vol.1, 3rd edition- Africa, Europe and the Middle Easthas full coverage of everything from Congolese soukous to Greek rembetika, and biographies of artists from Thomas Mapfumo to Cheb Khaled to the Afro Celt Sound System. Features include- More than 80 articles from expert contributors, focusing on the popular and roots music. Extensive discographies for each country, with biography-notes on nearly 2000 musicians and reviews of their best CDs. Photos and album cover illustrations gathered from contemporary and archive sources. The guide includes a directory of World Music labels and specialist stores around the world and on the Internet.

Arranged alphabetically by country, each fully updated article includes an overview of the country's music, presenting the story behind every genre, band and artist, with its accompanying discographies and illuminating insights. Illustrations, photos.

Expert writers present the major traditions of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, together with personal accounts of performers, composers, teachers, and ceremonies. A special feature of this volume is the inclusion of dozens of brief snap-shot essays that offer "lifestories" of typical musicmakers and their art, as well as first-person descriptions of specific music performances and events. Also includes maps and music examples.

The Rough Guide to World Music is the unchallenged work on sounds from around the globe. This third edition is even more comprehensive than ever- updated and expanded including playlists for all countries and new chapters on Bangladesh, Burma, Corsica, French chanson, Malta, Slovenia and New zealand. Volume 2: Europe, Asia and the Pacific has full coverage of genres from Balkan brass to Bollywood song and from fado and flamenco to Filipino fusion. The guide includes articles on more than 60 countries from Albania to Wales and Afghanistan to Vietnam written by expert contributors, focusing on popular and roots music. You'll find discographies for each article, with biographical notes on thousands of musicians and reviews of their best CDs. The Rough Guide to World Music is packed with playlists of the greatest tracks from each country for your iPod and MP3 player.

With entries on topics ranging from non-Western instruments to distinctive rhythms of music from various countries, this one-stop resource on global music also promotes appreciation of other countries and cultural groups. A perfect resource for students and music enthusiasts alike, this expansive three-volume set provides readers with multidisciplinary perspectives on the music of countries and ethnic groups from around the globe. Students will find Music around the World: A Global Encyclopedia accessible and useful in their research, not only for music history and music appreciation classes but also for geography, social studies, language studies, and anthropology. Additionally, general readers will find the books appealing and an invaluable general reference on world music. The volumes cover all world regions, including the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific, promoting a geographic understanding and appreciation of global music. Entries are arranged alphabetically. A preface explains the scope of the set as well as how to use the encyclopedia, followed by a brief history of traditional music and important current influences of music in each particular world region.

The Rough Guide to World Musicwas published for the first time in 1994 and became the definitive reference. Six years on, the subject has become too big for one book- hence this new two-volume edition. World Music 2- Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacifichas full coverage of everything from salsa and merengue to qawwali and gamelan, and biographies of artists from Juan Luis Guerra to The Klezmatics to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Features include more than 80 articles from expert contributors, focusing on the popular and roots music to be seen and heard, both live and on disc, and extensive discographies for each country, with biography-notes on nearly 2000 musicians and reviews of their best available CDs. It includes photos and album cover illustrations which have been gathered from contemporary and archive sources, many of them unique to this book, and directories of World Music labels, specialist stores around the world and on the internet.

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The critical importance of past for the present--of music histories in local and global forms--asserts itself. The history of world music, as each chapter makes clear, is one of critical moments and paradigm shifts.