Musicians in Transit: Argentina and the Globalization of Popular Music

by Matthew B. Karush

In Musicians in Transit Matthew B. Karush examines the transnational careers of seven of the most influential Argentine musicians of the twentieth Afro-Argentine swing guitarist Oscar Alemán, jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri, composer Lalo Schifrin, tango innovator Astor Piazzolla, balada singer Sandro, folksinger Mercedes Sosa, and rock musician Gustavo Santaolalla. As active participants in the globalized music business, these artists interacted with musicians and audiences in the United States, Europe, and Latin America and contended with genre distinctions, marketing conventions, and ethnic stereotypes. By responding creatively to these constraints, they made innovative music that provided Argentines with new ways of understanding their nation’s place in the world. Eventually, these musicians produced expressions of Latin identity that reverberated beyond Argentina, including a novel form of pop ballad; an anti-imperialist, revolutionary folk genre; and a style of rock built on a pastiche of Latin American and global genres. A website with links to recordings by each musician accompanies the book.

280 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2017

Reviews

[Vicky S Basualdo · Rating 4 out of 5]

me gustó mucho, pero tarde 100 años en terminarlo. tiene la mala suerte de ser el primer libro de no ficción que leo en bastante tiempo, y vengo leyendo mucha ficción muy interesante, entonces me costó un poco más de lo que esperaba. pero el trabajo está muy bien hecho! tampoco sabía tanto del tema, pero siento que aprendí un montón