We were lucky to catch up with Jacob Edgar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jacob, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I was born in San Francisco in 1969 into a community of artists and creative people. My mother was a potter and my father a puppeteer and involved in political theater groups such as the San Francisco Mime Troupe and Bread & Puppet. I was raised in an environment in which artistic expression was a part of everyday life. I spent much of my early childhood hanging out in my mother’s pottery studio playing with clay or at craft fairs and art events. My father was always roping me into being a part of his shows and street performances. I was never intimidated by life in the arts, its what I knew and I always appreciated the role of creative people in pushing boundaries, expanding our understanding of the world, speaking truth to power, and fighting for social and political change through artistic expression. I also got to hang out with really interesting people growing up!

While my parents weren’t musicians, they loved music and had an amazing record collection. They were pretty hip, always bringing home new albums by a wide range of artists. Their collection included everything from classic blues and folk to reggae and African music, not to mention eclectic pop, jazz, musicals and more. We moved to Vermont when I was 9 and I was stuck at home in the country a lot, so I spent a lot of time digging into that collection and learning about all kinds of cool music.

When I decided to study ethnomusicology, my parents never once said “But you’ll never get a job” or “why don’t you study something practical?” They knew that finding your passion and pursuing it was the key to a happy and successful life. That was much more important than following the same old path as everyone else. In fact, when I first told my father I was going to college, he was a little disappointed that I was going to do something so mainstream. “I was hoping you would become a rock star and take care of me in my old age!” he joked.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an Ethnomusicologist, record producer, and music researcher known for my extensive work in discovering and promoting music from around the world. I have traveled the globe in search of unique and compelling musical traditions, bringing attention to artists and genres that might otherwise remain obscure.

I run my own record label. Cumbancha (www.cumbancha.com), which produces exceptional musical talents from diverse cultures and providing them with a platform to reach a broader audience. For the past 27 years I have worked with the Putumayo World Music label (www.putumayo.com), curating and producing numerous compilations that showcase diverse musical styles from around the world.

In 2009, I embarked on a new adventure as host of music and travel television program called “Music Voyager” (https://tubitv.com/series/300008877/music-voyager), which ran for almost a decade. The series invited viewers to discover the exciting sounds of the planet and was broadcast on PBS and other stations around the world.

Since 2012 I have been a regular guest lecturer and music curator for National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions expeditions to South America, Africa, the South Pacific, Europe and many other destinations (www.expeditions.com). My work for Nat Geo/Lindblad involves curating musical experiences and concerts with world-renowned artists in intimate settings that provide a unique gateway into the culture, history, language, indeed the very soul of the communities we visit. I also give lectures on a wide variety of subjects relating to music and its role in local history, society, politics and more.

I am always scouring the planet for new sounds. My basic role is to travel the world and dig up as much music as I can, then review it to uncover those truly great artists and songs that rise above, and that appeal to both fans of world music and neophytes who are just interested in hearing something they like. I often tell people, “I suffer so you don’t have to!” What I mean is I have to listen to a lot of pretty banal stuff to find those musical diamonds, but as a result I’ve gotten to know some pretty special artists and musical movements.

As far as my education background, while pursuing my undergraduate degree at Oberlin College, where I was a double major in History and Latin American Studies, I conducted field research on music and society in Central America. My love of music took me to the West Coast where I was awarded the Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in 1994 with a Masters in Ethnomusicology.

For a time, I was a professional trumpet player performing primarily salsa and Afro-Cuban music. I have written for The Beat, Global Rhythm Magazine, The LA Times Book Review and other publications, and I was the host of the radio program “Uncompass” on the San Francisco radio station KALW.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I live part time in the US and part time in Canada, and it has been very interesting to see the different ways in which each country values and supports the arts. In the US, artists have to exist within the broader infrastructure of capitalism…in other words, they have to approach their careers like a business. Their ability to survive depends on finding “buyers” for their work. They have to do what ever it takes to build and grow their audiences, from sleeping on couches when on tour or devoting countless hours and creative energy to marketing themselves via social media and to the public at large. In the US, an artist has to be a hustler, entrepreneur, marketeer and so much more. And, ultimately, their success is not just about the quality of their art, it is as much, if not more, about how well they do all the other things involved with maintaining their visibility in a highly competitive and financially limited landscape. Popularity is one of the most important markers of artistic success in the US and we place great value on how popular an artist is when deciding whether or not we ourselves like their work.

Canada operates very differently. There is a much higher social value given to the arts, and they are recognized as something that contributes to our quality of life. The arts are not just a commercial product. There is a strong government support system for the arts which offers grants and cultivates skills, networking, and opportunities for artists in all types of fields.

I would love to see the US adopt a more Canadian approach to supporting the arts. Rather than forcing artists to commercialize themselves in order to survive, we need to recognize that some types of artistic expression cannot survive in a free market. They need to be recognized as material and intangible contributions to society as a whole and given the opportunity to thrive outside of the forces of the market and mainstream popularity.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I believe exposure to music from different parts of the world can help open a doorway to other cultures, Listening to music is an excellent way to make a connection with people who are very different from you, and it can create a common ground that overcomes some of the barriers that separate people of different walks of life.

Music can often play a pivotal role in defining, symbolizing and maintaining a culture. Songs that are in a local language, that reflect a shared history and have been passed down from generation to generation, sometimes in secret when those cultures have been oppressed, can be the glue that holds a culture together. These songs carry legends of heroic figures of the past, creation myths, religious beliefs, folklore and ideology, all of the elements that bind a community together. Musical instruments can act as living relics of the past, and their structure and methodology often reveal elements of history and interactions with other cultures that have been otherwise little documented.

Wherever I have traveled, music is the tool I use to meet people, to connect with new friends, to learn about the places I am visiting. Before I even knew what an Ethnomusicologist was, I had discovered that music was something that people all over the world cherished, and it was a great way to communicate, even if you did not share a spoken language. Music opened doors, got me into places I never would have been able to get to otherwise and by experience local music gave me a deeper understanding of the local culture.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cumbancha.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cumbanchamusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cumbancha
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaedgar/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/cumbanchamusic
• Other: https://www.putumayo.com
  https://tubitv.com/series/300008877/music-voyager
  https://expeditions.com