"Burdick writes with an evocative clarity that allows the context and voices of his informants to shine through. His commitment to them and his passion for racial justice drive the account of his research." (Pneuma) "Overall, this work is an admirable achievement.-," - David Lehmann (Cambridge University Press) "Reading John Burdicks The Color of Sound reminded me that the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson, sang the legendary hymn 'How I Got Over' just minutes after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream Speech' at the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Burdick delivers an evocative book full of fresh insights, analyzing how religious music makers and black gospel have the potential to create deeply meaningful and positive new politically engaged black and Afro-Brazilian identities in Brazil." - Donna M. Goldstein,author of Laughter Out of Place "Reveals the little-studied, but vast realm of transnational Christian popular music that circulates outside of mainstream channels. Burdicks evocative study of the vibrant scene of black evangelical music in São Paulo invites us to rethink notions of sonic performance, its relation to the body, and its reverberations in a modern urban society fraught by durable racial and social inequalities. Combining a richly textured ethnography with novel theoretical insights, this book points to new directions in the study of race, space, and faith in Brazilian culture." - Christopher Dunn,Tulane University