This book surveys issues involving the development of traditional and modern African music from antiquity into the modern era. It examines some of the historical context in which African music evolved throughout the entire continent, and connects to African life and culture through discussing stylistic elements of African music and its musicians. The relationship between Africa and aspects of other world cultures is also examined in order to understand some of the musical issues and relationships involved.
Karlton E. Hester, Ph.D. (composer, flutist, and saxophonist), began his career as a composer and recording artist in Los Angeles where he worked as a studio musician and music educator. He specializes in premeditated, spontaneous, and electro-acoustic composition. His compositions range from solo cycles for various woodwinds to chamber configurations, music videos, interdisciplinary collaborations (music, dance, video, etc.) and electro-acoustic symphonic works. Dr. Hester has received composer fellowships, grants, and commissions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New England Council of the Arts, Arts International, ASCAP, the William Grant Still Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation. He served as the Herbert Gussman Director of Jazz Studies at Cornell University from 1991-2001. He is currently Professor of Music and Director of "Jazz" Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Hester was founding director of the Fillmore Jazz Preservation Big Band, and is leader of his interdisciplinary arts ensemble, Hesterian Musicism.