Putumayo World Music Explained

Putumayo World Music
Founder:Dan Storper
Genre:World music, jazz & blues
Country:United States
Location:New Orleans

Putumayo World Music is a New Orleans-based record label that specializes in compilations of world music, jazz and blues.

History

Dan Storper founded Putumayo in 1975 as a retail store in New York City featuring handicrafts from around the world. Storper took the name of his company, Putumayo, from Colombia's Putumayo River Valley where he travelled in 1974.[1] Putumayo is said to mean a heron and "the place where the river begins" in the local indigenous language.[2] He eventually opened 7 world handicraft and clothing boutiques across the northeastern United States. In 1991, on his way home from Bali, Storper stopped in San Francisco, California. In Golden Gate Park, he heard the Nigerian band Kotoja. He was impressed by the music and started compiling international music to play in his stores. The response from the public was so positive that, in 1993, he launched Putumayo World Music and began offering compilations for sale.[3]

Artwork

Every release features the art of Nicola Heindl. Her art is both folky and modern, and, according to the Putumayo website, "represents one of Putumayo's goals: to connect the traditional to the contemporary."[4]

Putumayo Presents

Typically a Putumayo World Music compilation is presented as a theme under the title “Putumayo Presents:” The themes can be regional (South Africa, Caribbean, Asia), music styles (reggae, folk, Latin, jazz) and other themes (lounge, groove, party). All albums in the series were released on both CD and cassette from 1993 to early 2000, with Republica Dominicana being the last album released on cassette.[5]

The Putumayo Kids division was created in 2002. Since the release of the World Playground CD in 1999, Putumayo Kids music collections have received over 20 Parents' Choice Awards[6] among other accolades.

Putumayo launched the Putumayo World Music Hour in 2000, a commercially syndicated world music radio show. Rosalie Howarth of KFOG hosts the Music Hour. The weekly show is heard internationally on over 100 commercial and non-commercial stations.[7]

In 2011, Putumayo developed a series of cultural coloring books.[8] Beginning in 2017, Putumayo began distributing multicultural books and activity sets in partnership with publisher Barefoot Books.[9] That same year, Putumayo started a series of world greeting card collections that have featured international folk art and photography by illustrator Nicola Heindl, photographer Emerson Matabele, Brazilian block print artist José Francisco Borges, Louisiana Folk Artist William Hemmerling, London artist Christopher Corr and Louisiana painter George Rodrigue.[10]

Putumayo's products are sold at a network of thousands of book, gift, clothing, coffee and other specialty retailers around the world.

Many of Putumayo music collections are now available for digital download and streaming.[11] In 2020, the company launched an ongoing series of themed streaming playlists.[12]

Discography

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Putumayo: Colombian Roots of a World Music Label," The World, PRX radio interview, 27 Aug 2013. Retrieved 4 Sept 2021.
  2. http://www.itzcaribbean.com/putumayo_storper.php Interview with Dan Storper
  3. http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/01/putumayo-whole-world-music/#more-4909 Interview with Dan Storper
  4. http://worldmusic.about.com/od/recordlabels/p/putumayo.htm worldmusic.about.com
  5. Web site: Putumayo World Music . www.putumayo.com . 13 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010515203129/http://www.putumayo.com/ . 15 May 2001 . dead.
  6. http://archive.parentschoice.org/company.cfm?the_co=1245&from=Asian%20Dreamland Parents' Choice Award-Winning Company: Putumayo World Music
  7. News: Putumayo World Music Guaranteed to Make Listeners Feel Good . 9 September 2020 . Voice of America . 1 November 2009.
  8. Mandy . Chaos . Putumayo Kids Coloring and Sticker Books . Wired . 16 September 2020.
  9. News: More McCann . Sarah . An independent bookseller stars in her own fairy tale . 16 September 2020 . Christian Science Monitor . 17 March 2009.
  10. Web site: Putumayo . Faire . 16 September 2020.
  11. News: At Last, a Label Goes Digital . . Ben . Sisario . 29 August 2011 . 27 September 2012 .
  12. News: Hill . Jack . MUSIC MADNESS: Music moves outdoors with Sad Daddy in SoMa . 9 September 2020 . Arkansas Democrat Gazette . 27 August 2020.

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