Shankar looks beatific, sitting on stage before his sitar, a 17-stringed instrument made of two gourds, teak wood, and silver-toned frets. We can almost envision the sultan's courts in Delhi filling with melodious strains. But once Shankar begins to play, his asymmetrical rhythms delicately splinteri

Dreamy, Ethereal, Hypnotic, Indian classical music, Serene, Spiritual

Stokley Carmichael once said, "Everything is political." Apparently, poet Linton Kwesi Johnson agrees. The sound of his voice stays low and docile, as the humming of dub beats in the background lends a trance-like mood. But his are not calm words. The wrath of a gentle tiger broils in his laments aga

Agitated, Angry, Gritty, In-your-face, Lyrical, Overflowing, Political, Reggae, Social revolution, Spiritual

Carlos Santana is known for his long, drawn-out solos that soar into the highest registers of the guitar. But it would be reductive to say that Carlos Santana is a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and blues influences, his sound is undoubtedly multiple. For more tha

Classic rock, Ecstatic, Improvised, Open-ended, Pathos, Psychedelic music, Spiritual

A flagrant marijuana smoker and bridegroom to 27 women in one day, the gloriously rebellious African musician Fela Kuti led a life as tumultuous as the history of his native Nigeria. Jailed several times, Kuti became a voice of dissent against the successive military dictatorships that ruled the land

Ebullient, Hypnotic, Improvised, Juju/highlife, Open-ended, Rhythmic