Esther Kurtz

In this episode, I chat with Professor Esther Kurtz from Washington University of St. Louis Arts & Sciences. Professor Kurtz is an Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology and Director of Undergraduate Studies, affiliated with the Performing Arts Department and the Department of African and African-American Studies. Trained at Eastman, the Utrecht School of the Arts, and Brown University, she specializes in Afro-Brazilian music, sound, movement, and dance practices. Her forthcoming book, A Beautiful Fight: The Racial Politics of Capoeira in Backland Bahia, examines the racial and political dynamics of capoeira as both a site of antiracist resistance and a contested cultural space. Her current research extends to jazz musicians in St. Louis, exploring how they navigate issues of race, labor, and value under late capitalism. Professor Kurtz’s work has appeared in leading journals such as Women & Music, Ethnomusicology, and Journal of the Society for American Music, and she is an active voice at major international conferences on music, dance, and the African diaspora.