"The "Celtic" label has been very effective at creating a whites-only genre. There are less black faces on the covers of "Celtic" recordings than any other musical genre. Not just jazz and blues: there are far more non-white performers on the opera stage. I suspect that most of the people who describe what they're doing as "Celtic" *want* it that way."

Jack, I'm not sure that I agree with you. Jazz/Blues is a music based in Black culture, so of course there would be mor Black faces. Likewise, Classical and Opera are enjoyed by and taught to Black people th world over and so may be mor accessible from a cultural aspect. Are thre many Black Klezmer players? Many Black C/W players?

I don't think the term 'Celtic' creates a 'whites-only' genre. I think it is more a matter of cultural familiarity. Until recently there simply weren't huge numbers of Blacks in Ireland or even in Scotland (although Scotland has a large Indian/Asian community)so it is less likely to gain a huge following amongst them.

However, if you consider bands like Afro-Celt Sound System openly explore the links between different cultures and play with (non-white)musicians from different countries and cultures then I'd suggest the term "Celtic" is more a tag for a cultural starting point for making contact with others where you are not going to b accussed of appropriation of another culture. I don't think it is an exclusive genre, it is perhaps more that others have their own culturs to explore.