At the beginning of next year, not much will have changed from this year, when it comes to the pick of world and roots music concerts. More Cubans!
Marc Ribot isn't exactly Cuban by birth, but for the moment, he should qualify as an honorary citizen. Ribot is an inventive American guitarist, whose musical roots range from garage rock bands in New Jersey during the 1960s to classical guitar, which he studied under Haitian guitarist Franz Casseus. After crossing the river from New Jersey he became a mainstay of the New York City downtown scene.
He is probably best known as a sideman with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Marianne Faithfull, but cut his teeth playing with soul greats Wilson Pickett, Rufus Thomas and Solomon Burke. He joined the Lounge Lizards (led by John Lurie) for five years, and found himself much in demand as a guitarist in New York, working with John Zorn, the Jazz Passengers, Sun Ra, Arto Lindsay and many others. His own albums and compositions mixed up his own brand of soul, punk, funk and jazz, before he turned his hand to the music of Cuba.