Musical history
The Genres and Scales pages take a sound apart to show how it works. These articles tell the other half of the story — where it came from — and try to earn every claim: quoting original writing and recordings, and linking back to the sources so you can hear and read them yourself.
2 articles
Genre
The blues
From West African roots through work songs, field hollers, and spirituals to the root system of jazz, R&B, and rock — the story of the blues, sourced and linked.
ReadKlezmerכּלי־זמר
From the wedding bands of Ashkenazi Eastern Europe through the 78rpm era of immigrant New York to the 1970s revival — the story of klezmer, sourced and linked.
Read