Items21The creator’s order
  1. 1Rhiannon GiddensRhiannon GiddensBorn 21 Feb 1977Rhiannon Giddens learnt fiddle and banjo from the elderly North Carolina fiddler Joe Thompson, one of the last Black string-band players of his generation, and co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops to carry that repertoire on. Her research and performances have restored the banjo's African and…0i
  2. 2Ravi ShankarRavi ShankarBorn 7 Apr 1920Ravi Shankar trained for years in the guru-shishya tradition under Allauddin Khan of the Maihar gharana before becoming the best-known Indian classical musician in the world. His work with George Harrison and at Monterey and Woodstock made the sitar famous, but his deeper legacy is teaching: he…0i
  3. 3Zakir Hussain (musician)Zakir Hussain (musician)Born 9 Mar 1951Zakir Hussain was taught tabla from early childhood by his father, Alla Rakha, and became the instrument's most famous ambassador, playing with Shakti, Mickey Hart and countless Hindustani masters. He taught for decades and accompanied dancers and singers as faithfully as he collaborated across…0i
  4. 4Nusrat Fateh Ali KhanNusrat Fateh Ali KhanBorn 13 Oct 1948Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan came from a family of qawwals stretching back centuries and led its party in performing the devotional Sufi music of Pakistan and northern India at shrines and weddings. His collaborations with Peter Gabriel on Real World Records brought qawwali to audiences who had never…0i
  5. 5Amália RodriguesAmália RodriguesBorn 23 Jul 1920Amália Rodrigues took fado from the taverns of Lisbon's old quarters to concert halls worldwide from the 1940s onwards, and commissioned poets and composers to write for her, widening what the form could say. She is the reason fado has an international audience at all, and Portugal declared three…0i
  6. 6MarizaMarizaBorn 16 Dec 1973Mariza grew up in Lisbon's Mouraria district, where her parents ran a tavern with fado nights, and since her 2001 debut she has been the form's leading international voice. She sings the classic Amália repertoire alongside new songs written in the tradition, and her advocacy helped fado gain UNESCO…0i
  7. 7Paco de LucíaPaco de LucíaBorn 21 Dec 1947Paco de Lucía grew up in Algeciras in a flamenco family and spent his teens accompanying singers, the traditional apprenticeship for a guitarist. He later expanded the form, adding the cajón box drum and jazz harmonies, but his partnership with the singer Camarón de la Isla is the core of modern…0i
  8. 8Bandō Tamasaburō VBandō Tamasaburō VBorn 25 Apr 1950Bandō Tamasaburō V is the leading onnagata, the kabuki actor who specialises in female roles, of his generation, and was designated a Living National Treasure in 2012. Beyond performing the classic repertoire with famous precision, he has directed and staged kabuki and Chinese kunqu opera together…0i
  9. 9Mei LanfangMei LanfangBorn 22 Oct 1894Mei Lanfang was the most celebrated Peking opera performer of the twentieth century, a male actor of female roles whose 1930 American tour and 1935 Moscow visit impressed Charlie Chaplin and Bertolt Brecht. He refined the dan role's movement and costume and, after 1949, led the China Peking Opera…0i
  10. 10Joseph ShabalalaJoseph ShabalalaBorn 28 Aug 1940Joseph Shabalala founded Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the early 1960s to sing isicathamiya, the a cappella style developed by Zulu migrant workers in South Africa's mining hostels. Paul Simon's Graceland made the group world-famous in 1986, but Shabalala also founded an academy to teach the style to…0