Berliner, Paul

Contributed to

Music and spirit possession at a Shona bira
article 1975

Summary: Paul Franklin Berliner is an American ethnomusicologist, best known for specializing in African music as well as jazz and other improvisational systems. He is best known for his popular ethnomusicology book on the Zimbabwean mbira, The Soul of Mbira: Music and Traditions of the Shona People of Zimbabwe, for which he received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award. He also published Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation for which he received The Society of Ethnomusicology's Alan Merriam Prize for Outstanding Book in Musicology. Berliner received his Ph.D. from Wesleyan University. Wikipedia
Gender or Sex: Male [1][3][4][5]; Unknown [2]
Born: 1946 [2][5]
Country: United States [2]
Occupation: ethnomusicologist [5]; musicologist [5]; university teacher [5]; percussionist [5]
Profession: Musikethnologe [2]
Employer: Northwestern University [5]; Duke University [5]
Educated at: Wesleyan University [5]
Country of Education: United States [5]

Sources: 1. VIAF; 2. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (Germany); 3. Bibliothèque nationale de France; 4. Danish Bibliographic Centre; 5. Wikidata

Last updated May 21, 2025