Review by Choice Review
The reading of this book conjured up memories of daily journal entries recording one's experiences in the field, a practice recommended to graduate students going into the field for the first time to gather data for their dissertation. As the student becomes seasoned, he/she often modifies the data gathering to reflect an individual approach. Accepted in ethnography as ideal, this journal-entry style does not suit present ethnomusicological scholarship. Kisliuk (Univ. of Virginia) relates her experiences in the field devoid of interpretation. Her attempt to downplay the ethnomusicologist's approach to performance study reveals to this reviewer a failure to recognize the difference between the objectives of ethnography and those of ethnomusicology. These are but some of the weak points of Seize the Dance as an ethnomusicological resource. The accompanying compact discs (recorded in the field) provide sufficient sound samples of adequate quality to satisfy one's curiosity about the BaAka music of the Pygmies. Not for undergraduate collections. Kazadi wa Mukuna Kent State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
