Percussion drums, those essential and heavenly instruments of Latin rhythm, cover the stage: they emit an unexpected presence, like silent band members waiting to come alive. The buzzing current in the air tastes sweet like brown sugar, but also hints at crackling spice. The crowd awaits a genius, a

Bright, Charming, Ebullient, Pioneering, Rhythmic

Something wonderful happened in Brazil in the late 1960s. Stevie Wonder's soul-funk, Bob Marley's revolutionary reggae, and the smooth bossa nova of Joao Gilberto came together in one person: Brazil's irreplaceable Gilberto Gil. As a youth raised in rural Bahia, Gil was intoxicated by the bossa

Bright, Charming, Ebullient, Eclectic, Joyful, Playful, Political, Rebel, Rhythmic

Absurd, Bombast, Bright, Bubblicious, Composed, Cool, Ebullient, Glamour, Grand, Implosive, Joyful, Playful, Pop, Power, Quirky, Saturated

Mahmoud Ahmed (born May 8, 1941) is an Ethiopian singer of Gurage ancestry. Born in Addis Ababa, Mahmoud shined shoes in that city before becoming a handyman at the Arizona Club, where he first sang professionally in the early 1960s. He sang for the Imperial Body Guard Band until 1974, and recorded w

Atmospheric, Classical, Composed, Ebullient, Hypnotic, Intense, Intimate, Lyrical, Old school african '60s/'70s, Power, Primal, Pristine, Repetition, Repetitive, Rhythmic, Sensual, Smoky, Social revolution, Sophisticated