Flora Purim Like her husband, Airto, Flora Purim has been instrumental in the creation of a unique fusion of world music and jazz. Long one of Brazil's top singers, Flora became an international star when she joined the original Return to Forever. She quickly became a winner of jazz polls and awards in her own right, earning an exhalted place alongside such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Betty Carter. Flora's beautifully expressive voice enables her to cover a wide range of styles. She can handle a ballad as well as she can wordlessly evoke the sound of birds. Flora has recorded such acclaimed solo albums as Butterfly Dream and Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly, and has worked with Santana, Dizzy Gillespie and, of course, Airto.

Fredric Lieberman Fredric Lieberman, Ph.D., has taught at Brown University, the University of Washington, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he is currently professor of music and chair of the music department. He has served as editor of the journal Ethnomusicology and has produced field recordings and films. He serves as ethnomusicological consultant for various Mickey Hart projects, including the "World" series. He is the author of A Chinese Zither Tutor, Chinese Music: An Annotated Bibliography, and numerous articles on Chinese nd other Asian musics. His current interest is American popular music.

Steven Feld Steven Feld has been Director of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at the University of Texas at Austin. He will begin his tenure in the Anthropology Department of the University of California Santa Cruz in January of 1996. His research on Bosavi musical rituals and ecology is reported in Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics and Song in Kaluli Expression. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press. He is currently a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram Like his longtime friend, Zakir Hussain, Vikku is part of a new generation devoted to extending and expanding ancient Indian traditions. His early training came from his father, himself a master musician. Vikku's instrument of choice is the Ghatam, a large clay pot made specifically for use as a percussion instrument. Vikku has played in numerous experimental and avant - garde ensembles. He is probably best known in this country for his tenure in Shakti, a groundbreaking acoustic jazz/Indian fusion band with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and Zakir Hussain on tabla. No one who saw Shakti could forget Vikku and Zakir's breathtaking, show stopping percussion duets.

Mickey Hart

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