VA The Rough Guide To

From the very start, blues guitarists forged an irresistible partnership with the slide, the sound of which epitomizes the very essence of the genre. This Rough Guide highlights the revolutionary players who pioneered this most captivating of styles during the early recorded heyday of the blues.

From boundary-pushing koto musicians to experimental jazz virtuosi, Japanese music has long embraced all things avant-garde. This Rough Guide highlights some of today’s key innovators whose individualism challenges the conformist perception of Japan.

Flowing from the same bedrock of experience, blues & gospel music have long been closely connected. This Rough Guide features legendary artists who straddled the line between the music of worship and the blues.

With its enduring message of comfort and inspiration, gospel music’s origins are rooted in the tragedy of African-American slavery. From the earthy recordings of the evangelist street performers to the polished sound of the jubilee quartets, this Rough Guide features many of the trailblazing artists who paved the way for what has become a global phenomenon.

Storytelling lies at the heart of Celtic music; breathtaking voices sing tales of lost love, tragedies both old and new, as well as exile, prison, war, and separation. Featuring bodhrán, flute, guitar and harp, this Rough Guide includes old folk lullabies, work songs and contemporary compositions from leading Celtic artists.

This Rough Guide showcases some of Africa’s leading lights of the guitar, both past and present, from West African bluesmen Samba Touré and Alhousseini Anivolla to the fingerpicking wizardry of South African maskanda legend Shiyani Ngcobo.

A remarkable phenomenon in the history of the blues was the vast contribution made by blind musicians, whose legacy left a lasting impact on American music to this day. From ‘The Father Of The Texas Blues’ Blind Lemon Jefferson to slide guitar evangelist Blind Willie Johnson, this Rough Guide highlights the blind blues pioneers who, against all the odds and in the face of incredible adversity, were responsible for a musical revolution.

From the five-hundred-year old musical history of the Sufi Fakirs of Bengal to the virtuoso musicianship of Calcutta’s guitar master Debashsish Bhattacharya and Carnatic violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, this Rough Guide explores India’s spiritual connections with its ancient musical traditions.