Dexter Story spent decades in the music industry, much of it as a working musician and producer, bringing to life the varied sounds of African jazz. But he sensed something was mis…
Dexter Story joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA in Fall 2026 as assistant professor of ethnomusicology. A composer, producer, and musician as well as a scholar, he studies musical innovation in the Horn of Africa: how indigenous practices and new technologies meet as acts of reclamation that sustain communities and freedom movements. His book in progress, Sound and Struggle, grows from his dissertation on Tigrinya guayla music, a dance-rooted tradition, and follows how sound, performance, and identity travel together through Eritrea and across the African diaspora.
He is also writing a volume on Ethio-jazz pioneer Dr. Mulatu Astatke for Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series. His solo albums, including T’som, forthcoming from Soundway Recordings in October 2026, are where his research and his music converge. With department colleagues, he is revisiting and developing course offerings that explore musical life in Africa, the African diaspora, and beyond.