About the Book

To a field under-represented in existing general reference works and about which only a fraction is known by most scholars, the International Dictionary of Black Composers brings extensive information about historical and contemporary composers of African heritage from around the world. Unlike other biographical reference works dealing with composers or musicians, the dictionary includes not only biographies, works, primary and secondary bibliographies, and discographies for each of its 250 entrants, but also signed critical essays about the composers themselves and their most important pieces. A team of 100 leading experts in the field provide not only the facts but also interpretive perspectives. The dictionary is a forum for the notice, study and validation of all genres of black music, encompassing composers of concert hall music as well as popular and vernacular musical forms and styles.