Focus: Music of Northeast Brazil examines the historical and contemporary manifestations of the music of Brazil, a country with a musical landscape that is layered with complexity and diversity. Based on the author’s field research during the past twenty years, the book describes and analyzes the social/historical contexts and contemporary musical practices of Afro-Brazilian religion, selected Carnival traditions, Bahia’s black cultural renaissance, the traditions of rural migrants, and currents in new popular music.
Part One, Understanding Music in Brazil, presents important issues and topics that encompass all of Brazil, and provides a general survey of Brazil’s diverse musical landscape. Part Two, Creating Music in Brazil, presents historical trajectories and contemporary examples of Afro-Brazilian traditions, Carnival music, and northeastern popular music. Part Three, Focusing In, presents two case studies that explore the ground-level activities of contemporary musicians in Northeast Brazil and the ways in which they move between local, national, and international realms. The accompanying downloadable resources offer vivid musical examples that are discussed in the text
Part I: Understanding Music in Brazil. Brazil: A Country Divided 2. Brazilian Music in Focus: A History of Hybridity Part II: Creating Music in Brazil. Afro-Brazilian Musical Traditions: Candomblé, Afoxé, and Maracatu Part III: Focusing In: Intimate Portraits and the Reinvention of Brazilian Music 6. Two Case Studies from the Northeast: Banda de Pífanos and Cantoria de Viola
Biography
Larry Crook is Professor of Music and Co-Director of the Center for World Arts at the University of Florida. He is co-editor of Black Brazil: Culture, Identity, and Social Mobilization and has published his work in journals, books, and encyclopedias. An active performing musician, he performs with and directs Jacaré Brazil.
