Dan Storper launched Putumayo World Music with his friend Michael Kraus in 1993, and across more than 400 releases since, the record label has circled the globe numerous times.
Albums, most with bright, recognizable covers made by British artist Nicola Heindl, have highlighted the music of individual countries, like Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia or Italy, compiled music within genres such as blues, samba and reggae, or focused on particular themes, with titles like “Afro-Caribbean Party” and “Indian Groove.”
And New Orleans and Louisiana have occasionally popped up over the last 30 years. Putumayo has released compilations of Cajun, zydeco and brass band music, and in early 2005, they released a Kermit Ruffins record.
In 2018, the label celebrated the city’s tricentennial and Putumayo’s 25th anniversary with “New Orleans Party,” which has songs by Big Al Carson, Dr. John, Grandpa Elliott, Dave Bartholomew, the Preservation Hall Hot 4 band and more.
Storper was a fan of New Orleans, moved here and, in the late-2000s, relocated the Putumayo headquarters to the city for a while. He also kept offices in other cities, including Charlotte, Vermont, which is now the label’s headquarters.
Storper passed away in May 2025 in New Orleans at the age of 74. “Dan is impossible to describe to anyone who has not met him, truly a unique, one-of-a-kind human,” his obituary in The Times-Picayune read. “He was honest, principled, and intelligent, while being easy-going and joyous.”
The Putumayo Celebrate the World Festival on Sunday, Jan. 25, at The Broadside will in part be a tribute to Storper, says Jacob Edgar, who began working with the label in 1998.
“He was a lover of the city and the community,” Edgar says. “We felt like it would be an appropriate way to celebrate him and just have a party, which I know he would like.”
The festival, which runs 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., will feature performances by Senegalese Afropop artist Cheikh Ibra Fam, Mi’kmaq folk fiddler-vocalist Morgan Toney, Cuban singer-songwriter Niuver, New Orleans jazz band Sabertooth Swing, Austin-based, globally influenced quartet Ley Line and Quique Escamilla, who has been called a “Pan-American Troubadour.” There also will be special guests and a DJ.
With the exception of Escamilla, each of the artists have been on a Putumayo compilation. They also all will be in town for the Folk Alliance International Conference, which runs Jan. 21-25, at the Sheraton Hotel. FAI in 2021 gave Putumayo a lifetime achievement award.
In early 2020, Putumayo coordinated a reunion in New Orleans during the last time the FAI conference was here. The label wanted to bring together people who had worked for the company over the years.
“One of the things Dan was so great at was finding amazing people to work for Putumayo,” says Edgar, an ethnomusicologist who was hired by Storper to be “the roving musical explorer” for the label. Edgar is now the managing director for Putumayo Digital Media, which launched four years ago, and has been operating the label after Storper’s passing.
Many people have gone through Putumayo over the years, says Edgar, including The Broad Theater and Broadside founder Brian Knighten.
“I wanted to do something similar this time around,” Edgar says. “So we do have quite a few people coming as well who are part of the sort of Putumayo family.”
Putumayo founder Dan Storper
Storper, who had majored in Latin American Studies at St. Louis’ Washington University, started the Putumayo business in 1975 with a New York City shop focused on Latin American clothing and handicrafts. Within a few years, the company had grown to seven stores and a popular wholesale business.
Then in 1991, Storper stopped over in San Francisco after visiting Indonesia and came across the Nigerian band Kotoja performing in Golden Gate Park. The music compelled him to begin exploring more musical traditions around the world and launch his record label in 1993.
Putumayo has sold more than 35 million compilation CDs worldwide, The New York Times reported last year. And today, as CDs have given way to digital distribution, Putumayo Digital Media publishes two albums a month and curates playlists on streaming platforms. The label also creates a webpage with a bio for each included artist.
“It’s a company with a social mission to improve the world by people celebrating diversity and helping them recognize our differences, celebrate our differences and enjoy them,” Edgar says.
New Orleans has been a big part of Putumayo’s repertoire throughout its history, Edgar adds. It’s a special place.
“Culturally, it really embodies what Putumayo’s all about,” he says. “It’s these cultural threads and the important role music can play in a community.”
Tickets for Sunday’s event are $20 and free for kids 12 and under and Folk Alliance conference badge holders. Find more info at putumayo.com.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source bestofneworleans.com ’
