A chance encounter at a grocery store put me on the path to making a documentary film about Ella Jenkins.

In this interview, Zimmern reflects on his many journeys, the personalities he met along the way, and the social role of food in our lives.

“Pillow People,” a song featured on Quetzal’s new Smithsonian Folkways album The Eternal Getdown, delineates the dangerous trek from the first step out of their home communities, on to a near impossible and treacherous journey.

After ten years traveling around the world as an advertising executive, I perfected the art of the solitary meal.

The conception of these soundscapes stems from a deep love of history that I have had since childhood. The idea of recreating the sound of the past in a way that was meaningful to modern listeners provided me with a creative challenge.

In Armenia, folk remedies aren’t just offhand suggestions from your grandmother. When it comes to minor illnesses, trained doctors are not shy about recommending them either.

Watching Rahim AlHaj perform is a joyous experience. Smiles inadvertently creep onto his lips while he playfully improvises on an instrument that seems to be more a part of him than not.

Close your eyes for a moment and listen to the space you are in. From my chair, I can hear the rhythmic agitation of my washing machine’s spin cycle muffled only slightly by a closed door.

While musics have always emerged and disappeared through changing tastes or circumstances, some “small musics” are “being disappeared” by non-musical influences and powers.

When there has been a constant ringing in your ears for your entire life, you learn to appreciate noise. Outside it may be traffic, airplanes, birds, and bugs drowning out the internal buzz.