Cuban Music from A to Z Book

The definitive guide to the composers, artists, bands, musical instruments, dances, and institutions of Cuban music.

Library Journal

This exhaustive reference represents more than 20 years of research and scholarship on one of the world's richest musical cultures, a fiery cross-breeding of African and Spanish rhythms. Now in English for the first time, this work was first published in 1981 as Diccionario de la Musica Cubana and appeared most recently in 1998. The English edition is based on the 1998 version and has been substantially revised to include musicians who have emerged since 1998 and Cuban American artists who could not appear in the Spanish edition for political reasons. Musicologist Orovio (Inst. of Folklore & Ethnology, Acad. of Sciences, Cuba) combines his own extensive knowledge with facts gleaned from various print sources and input from fellow researchers, fans, and journalists. In an attempt to be as encompassing as possible, the author traveled outside of Havana. The result is an amazing survey of Cuban musical styles, dances, instruments, and personalities. The 5000-plus, alphabetically organized entries are concise, factually detailed, and rigorously informative. They range from the well known (e.g., Desi Arnaz and the mambo) to the obscure (e.g., the sart n, a folk instrument made up of two frying pans attached to a wooden board and worn around the neck). Also included are numerous photos and illustrations, an introduction, and a helpful appendix that groups entries such as orchestras and bands, instruments, theaters, and music magazines. Probably too specialized and costly (at least in cloth) for many public libraries, this will make a terrific addition to all music and academic libraries; it is the only in-depth resource on Cuban music and will complement cultural/travel memoirs like Jory Farr's recent Rites of Rhythm, not to mention best-selling audio CDs like Buena Vista Social Club.-David Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.