Yale Evelev is the president of Luaka Bop Records. A 2013 article at NPR.org described Evelev as someone who "digs up information about great-but-forgotten musicians for a living." He was raised in Philadelphia, and attended the

School of the Museum of Fine Arts The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is the art school of Tufts University, a private research university in Boston, Massachus ...

in Boston. In the 1970s he worked at Soho Music Gallery in New York, and in 1980 took a job as promotions director at the New Music Distribution Service, which specialized in

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

releases. He later went to work for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where he served as Director of their New Music America series from 1988 to 1990. Among the performers he booked was

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

frontman David Byrne, with whom he became friends. In 1988 Byrne founded Luaka Bop, and in 1990 hired Evelev to run the label. Under Evelev, Luaka Bop has been in the forefront of issuing new and overlooked vintage African music, indigenous

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

, and other World musics. About issuing these artistic discoveries on his US-based label, Evelev said in a 2011 interview, "This happens a lot, when people who don't value their culture suddenly see it being appreciated outside and say, 'Hey, people are paying for this, maybe we ought to take a closer look.'" Evelev has produced albums by John Zorn, Scott Johnson, Malombo,

Tom Zé Antônio José Santana Martins (born 11 October 1936), known professionally as Tom Zé (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of ...

, Geggy Tah,

Daniel Lentz Daniel Lentz (born March 10, 1942, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American classical electronic music composer and artist who specializes in sculptured acrylic illuminated manuscripts. Biography Lentz achieved notability as a musici ...

Shuggie Otis Johnny Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.; November 30, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist. Otis's composition " Strawberry Letter 23" (as recorded by The Brothers Johnson) toppe ...

Zap Mama Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music with a mixture of infused African vocal techniques, urban, hip hop with emphasis on voice. The worldwide success of Zap Ma ...

William Onyeabor William Ezechukwu Onyeabor (, ; 26 March 1946 – 16 January 2017) was a Nigerian funk musician and businessman. His music was widely heard in Nigeria in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite his success, he remained an enigmatic, private and ...

, and others.Yale Evelev credits at AllMusic
/ref> He has produced albums for the labels Icon (which he founded), Nonesuch, Luaka Bop, Aoede,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, and Manteca.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evelev, Yale Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American music people American music industry executives American record producers School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts alumni