Island Sounds in the Global City: Caribbean Popular Music and Identity in New York

"Everyone is talking about immigration and its discontents. But 'Island Sounds in the Global City' shows how Afro-Caribbean people have transformed New York into the most glamorous city in the world while building a serious tradition of aesthetic social criticism that ennobles us all. This rich collection is like water thrown on the Wicked Witch of the West." Robert Farris Thompson Professor of History and Art, Yele University From the barrios of East Harlem to the streets of Crown Heights, Caribbean music permeates New York City's contemporary soundscape. Indeed, the Big Anple has been a crossroads for Caribbean musis and culture since the early years of this century. Istand Sounds in the Global City, a collection of Critical essays, Surveys a rich mosaic of popular Caribbean styles and explores the fascinating relationship between music and cultural identity in America's largest, most diverse urban center. With contributions from: * Ruth Glasser on Puerto Rican Music between the World Wars * Peter Manuel on New York Images in Latin Music * Paul Austerlitz on Dominican Merengue * Juan Flores on Latin Rap * Donald Hill on Calypso in the 1930s and 1940s * Philip Kasinitz on West Indian Carnival in Bresklyn * Ray Allen & Les Slater on Trinidadian Steel Pan Music * Lois Wilcken on Haitian Folk Troupes * Sage Averill on Haitian Konpa Ray Allen is Acting Director of the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College, CUNY Lois Wilcken is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Hunter College, CUNY