Jacob Edgar is an Ethnomusicologist, world music tastemaker, street food fanatic and a global explorer with an insatiable curiosity for the diverse ways in which people express themselves through music. His adventures have taken him to Cuba, Brazil, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, India, Colombia, Australia and dozens of other countries, not to mention hundreds of the world’s greatest international music festivals, showcases and performance venues in search of exceptional musical talents.

Since 1998, Edgar has been the main music researcher for the acclaimed world music compilations label Putumayo World Music, contributing songs and liner notes to over 100 Putumayo collections that combined have sold over ten million copies.

In 2006, Edgar founded the record label Cumbancha, which was awarded the Top Label Award at WOMEX (the World Music Expo) in just its second year of eligibility. Cumbancha artists include 2016 GRAMMY nominee Rocky Dawuni from Ghana, Israel’s cross-cultural mavericks The Idan Raichel Project, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, and the late Garifuna music advocate Andy Palacio. Edgar is also a frequent guest lecturer on National Geographic Expeditions cruises.

With headphones constantly plastered to his ears, Edgar has probably listened to more world music recordings then anyone on the planet. Edgar’s journeys to remote Caribbean villages, trendy Parisian nightclubs, sultry Brazilian samba schools, rocking Indian jam sessions, the recording studios of Havana and many other adventures, have earned him a backstage pass to the world of music.