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World Music Legends Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan not only transcended time, but also language and religion. There was magic when he opened his mouth, a sense of holy ecstasy that was exciting and emotional.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Amália Rodrigues
Amália Rodrigues brought distinction to the Portuguese fado style, taking it from the back streets of Lisbon to concert halls around the world.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Miriam Makeba
The end of apartheid in South Africa allowed those who’d been forced to flee to come home. Miriam Makeba, the country’s jewel of a singer who’d left her homeland in 1960, returned as both a musical and political icon.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum was the greatest Arabic singer of the 20th Century. When she died in 1975, four million people lined the streets of Cairo for her funeral.
By Chris Nickson

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Press Room World Atlas
For a rising star in the Arab-Euro pop scene, Natacha Atlas has an unexpected accent: It’s British. But Atlas has confounded expectations all her life. Born in Belgium to a father with roots in Egypt and Morocco, she was raised in her mother’s England. "In the early part of my life, it was a bit confusing," she recalls. "What’s my identity? But as I got older, I realized there’d always be these two identities living within me."
By Chris Nickson

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200305/world.atlas.htm

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Reggae Legends Bob Marley
Bob Marley remains the best-known name in reggae, even more than 20 years after his death. His real revolutionary stance and spirit helped make him an icon to most of the non-Western world.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Seán Ó Riada
It was the late Seán Ó Riada who took traditional Irish music, largely inaccessible outside of the isles, and turned it into something new. His innovative approach to folk music in the 1950s paved the way for modern interpreters such as the Chieftains.
By Chris Nickson

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Reggae Legends Skatalites
It’s quite possible that no band that existed for a mere 18 months has had as much influence as the Skatalites, a veritable dream team of Jamaican musicians.
By Chris Nickson

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Reggae Legends Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse has stood at the forefront of British reggae for more than a quarter of a century. While their music has picked up influences, they’ve remained resolutely true to their roots and their politics.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Alan Lomax
When Alan Lomax died at age 87, he left behind a musical legacy most people can only dream about, even if he made none of the music himself. A musicologist, he let us hear America and the globe, capturing traditions in a world that was changing as rapidly as the eye could blink.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Bob Marley
There’s no denying that Bob Marley remains the best-known name in reggae, even more than 20 years after his death. His revolutionary stance and spirit is what helped make him such an icon.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Caetano Veloso
Brazil’s Caetano Veloso endured prison, then exile, and then rebounded to become a cultural hero. He’s gone on to become one of the most revered songwriters and performers in a nation known for its music.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Chavela Vargas
Chavela Vargas was one of the greatest female ranchera singers ever to emerge from Mexico—even if she isn’t actually Mexican. She sold out Carnegie Hall in a special appearance and her incredible story is one that's truly epic in scope.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Cheikha Remitti
If Algerian raï has a mother, her name is Cheikha Remitti. Now in her 80s (and still performing) she’s been a part of the music since it took on its colors, a guiding and frequently outrageous force who’s helped shape raï into what it is today.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends King Sunny Adé
It’s all about the juju. And if there’s one person who’s made juju music known internationally, it’s King Sunny Adé. Once the heir to the world music mantle of Bob Marley, he’s perhaps Nigeria’s most important export after its oil.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Lord Kitchner
Some people think of calypso as a light musical form. In Trinidad, however, it’s serious business, especially at Carnival time. And they don’t come any bigger than Lord Kitchener.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Manu Dibango
For over 30 years Manu Dibango has been one of the giants of world music. Long before it had a name, this Cameroonian's music has sounded as powerful and appealing in America as it does in Europe or Africa.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Paco de Lucía
You can argue long and hard about the origins of the word flamenco. But the greatest contemporary figure in the music, and certainly the best-known internationally, is the virtuoso guitarist Paco de Lucía.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends Serge Gainsbourg
The legacy Serge Gainsbourg left has continued to grow. He put an iconoclastic, intellectual side into French music, spicing up a stew that was generally bland.
By Chris Nickson

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World Music Legends The Skatalites
It’s quite possible that no band that existed for a mere 18 months has had as much influence as the Skatalites. In some ways, the Skatalites are as much an idea as an entity, and certainly the instrumental high point of ska.
By Chris Nickson

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