Zimbabwean Mbira Music on an International Stage Chartwell Dutiro's Life in Music Book

A fascinating journey through the paths of American music and those carrying on its traditions and creating their own. From country through blues to modern rock, rap, R&B, gospel and folk, Leibovitz gathers a wide scope of musicians into this oeuvre and, as always, some of these images are quite arresting. Willie Nelson in black-and-white profile, looking as monumental as a face on a mountain. The Roots giving an impromptu gig on the streets of Philadelphia in 2000. Brian Wilson alone, poolside, clad in bathrobe and beach shorts, a storm brewing in the distance. DJ Shadow in the process of splicing together unearthly beats from his massive hoard of records. Meg White strapped to a rotating target as Jack White prepares to throw the knife. The empty Preservation Hall in New Orleans, its namesake Jazz Band's instruments lying unclaimed in the dim morning light. Eartha Kitt from the waist down, her elegant legs draped dramatically over the cushions of a couch in lurid hotel light. The added essays from musicians inside range from the fascinating (Beck & Steve Earle) to the lyrical (Mos Def & Patti Smith) to the really ill-advised and creepy in hindsight (Ryan Adams).