Long stereotyped as itinerant tricksters and thieves, the Gypsy, or Roma, people have for centuries been seeking tolerance and respect. Even their name is the result of a misunderstanding, the erroneous belief that they came from Egypt (it was, in fact, India). But while Gypsies’ struggle for civil rights continues, they’ve recently won some respect for their wildly energetic, heavily improvised, and deeply passionate music.

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Perhaps the most identifiable characteristic of much Gypsy music is its defiance of category. Because they’ve scattered around the globe and absorbed so many different cultural influences, Gypsy musicians play in a wide range of styles. Two relatively recent CD compilations—The Gypsy Road (Alula) and Gypsy Caravan (Putumayo)—provide an introduction to the breadth of the Gypsy diaspora.

Musicologists are now trying to determine which strains might be deemed authentically Gypsy and which are syntheses and appropriations. But while they untangle history, rest assured that Gypsies have enhanced virtually all of the music they’ve touched.

Many French Gypsies play jazz manouche, a form combining bagpipe-like musette melodies, swing jazz, and traditional Gypsy music. Spanish Gypsies are the most famous purveyors, if not inventors, of flamenco. The list of styles goes on and on, culminating most recently with some strange mutations. In Bucharest, Romania, Adrian the Wonder Boy plays a tepid light pop known as urban Gypsy music, while Los Angeles guitarist Danny Fender boasts a signature California style that blends Gypsy sounds with Ventures-style surf music.

A tour called the Gypsy Caravan recently visited more than a dozen U.S. cities with its own broad cross section of Gypsy talent. Maharaja, a heavily rhythmic dance-and-music troupe from Rajasthan, India, original homeland of the Gypsies, represents the music’s ancient roots. Its seldom-seen feminine face is embodied by the “Queen of the Gypsies,” the forceful-voiced diva Esma Redzepova. The 10-man brass band Fanfare Ciocârlia plays in a dazzling, but dying, Romanian style that originated in the Turkish military, while the Antonio El Pipa Flamenco Ensemble showcases Andalusian flamenco music, complete with dancers. (For information on the tour, see www.heartheworld.org/touring.)