Profiles Index - page 2

Tinariwen - Tuareg Desert Blues Band
Tinariwen is the premier Tuareg musical group in the world. The band formed in Muammar al-Qaddafi's rebel camps in 1982, and have since switched from guns to guitars, bringing their music around the world.

Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry was one of the most influential producers and musicians in the history of reggae and ska music. He produced albums by Bob Marley and the Wailers, among others, and is credited with essentially inventing the rhythms that became known as reggae and dub.

Canray Fontenot
Canray Fontenot was one of Louisiana's greatest musicians of all time. He was a Creole fiddle player who played traditional Cajun and Creole folksongs, predating zydeco music. Canray Fontenot is, even posthumously, a major influence on the music of Cajun and Creole Louisiana.

Thomas Mapfumo
Thomas Mapfumo, known as the Lion of Zimbabwe, is one of Africa's most beloved musical performers. He invented a genre of music called "chimurenga", which blended traditional shona music with Western rock and pop. Thomas Mapfumo's outspoken lyrics resulted in his political exile from Zimbabwe.

Los Pleneros de la 21
Los Pleneros de la 21 is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to keeping the traditional music of Puerto Rico alive among the Puerto Rican community in New York.

Ska Cubano
Ska Cubano is a band whose members are spread around the globe and who play a combination of ska music, Cuban son and Colombian cumbia.

Fela Kuti - Afrobeat Pioneer
Fela Kuti was a pioneering world musician who played Afrobeat music, a blend of American jazz, funk and pop with West African Highlife Music. Fela Kuti was also a major political activist who became a hero of the Black Power movement. Fela Kuti died of AIDS in 1997.

Balkan Beat Box
Balkan Beat Box are currently one of the hottest world fusion bands around. They call their unique sound New Mediterraneo. Balkan Beat Box was founded by Ori Kaplan (formerly of Gogol Bordello) and Tamir Muskat.

Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam are one of the most remarkable bands in the world music scene today. They met at a school for the blind in Mali, fell in love and have been making music as a couple for over 25 years.

Mamadou Diabate
Mamadou Diabate is a Malian kora player, and a member of the Mandinka West African Jeli family. He generally plays traditional songs and tradition-based originals, but he has found ways to bring the kora to new audiences by occasionally performing with jazz and rock musicians as well.

Cesaria Evora
Cesaria Evora is a singer from the Cape Verde islands known for her soulful interpretation of morna songs.

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