Here is a small summer present for all readers of this blog. Music for dance, talk and love. Rare and old ethiopian grooves. 210 minutes of pure joy and happiness
The author of this blog is preparing for the vacation. There will be no new posts untill mid of september.
Enjoy ethiopian music, write, comment and suggest.
Guzo
is the debut release of young Ethiopian pianist Samuel Yirga. Against the odds,
Samuel found his way to music school in Addis Ababa and despite still being in
his 20s and only having left music school relatively recently, he has developed
at a pace remarkable for someone of his age.
He has gone on to become one of
Ethiopia's most promising young musicians and composers and in recent years,
Samuel has gained wider international recognition through his touring and
recording with Ethio-fusion group Dub Colossus.
The
title, Guzo, means "journey" in Amharic, the official working
language of Ethiopia.
Recorded partly in Addis Ababa and partly in the
UK
at Real World Studios, it is the product of his years experimenting with the
music of his roots and the outside influences of American jazz (particularly
Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock), Latin, and classical music. It explores the
traditional musical history of Ethiopia,
the more modern Ethiojazz that has brought his country's music to international
attention, ventures into big-band brass ensembles, moves through soul and funk,
and then simmers with the deeply impassioned solo piano tracks. Whilst the solo
piano pieces are introspective and deeply felt, Samuel has enlisted some great
singers and instrumentalists from Ethiopia,
Europe and the Caribbean. Featured vocalists
are the Creole Choir of Cuba, a Cuban choir whose songs go back to their
Haitian roots; Mel Gara, a British singer whose origins are in Iraq; and
Nicolette, a Nigerian-British singer, famous for her collaborations with
Massive Attack.
While
Sammy has been influenced by American jazz and funk, he also wanted to record
some tunes which showed the great range of traditional music in Ethiopia. On
these tracks, which he recorded in Addis
Ababa, he was joined by some of the country's best young
traditional instrumentalists.
"His
world is opening up," says Dubulah (aka Nick Page), the British musician
and producer behind Transglobal Underground, Syriana and Dub Colossus and also
producer of Guzo, "He's feeling his way around and this recording is a
statement of where he's intending to go and what he has to offer. I think the
result will surprise people."
'Guzo'
is both bold and sensitive. It is the start of Samuel Yirga's musical journey
and a platform to showcase the extraordinary skill as both musician and
composer of this emerging young talent. The album's roots might be firmly in
the Ethiojazz of Samuel's homeland, but this young man from Addis has opened up
a whole new door on a musical genre and region.
Tracklisting
1.
Abet Abet: is a traditional love song which features the raw and melodic notes
of the Ethiopian one-stringed fiddle, the messenqo. Recorded in Addis, Sammy is
accompanied by some of Ethiopia's
best young traditional instrumentalists.
2.
Tiwista: this is another well-known Ethiopian song and means 'nostalgia'. The
tune is arranged with Sammy's own jazz-influenced base line. The melody is led
by a subtle but powerful saxophone which weaves in and out of the piano through
the track.
3.
Ferma Ena Wereket: This tune's title means 'We don't need paper to love each
other'. "Everyone can sing about love," says Sammy, "but the way
you describe it is what's important." This track is a controversial
statement about marriage.
4.
Ye Bati Koyita: - a solo piano piece. The title means "A Time in
Bati" - Bati is a town in northern Ethiopia, and also the name of the
musical scale Samuel plays. Always the innovator, Samuel plays it not with the
original time signatures in which it was written, but swapping between
different timings to keep the tune fresh. The result is a mature, intricate
take on an old Ethiopian melody which ripples with classical and jazz
influences.
5.
Nou Se Soleil: - Vocal introduction to I am the Black Gold of the Sun, sung by
The Creole Choir of Cuba.
6.
I am the Black Gold of the Sun: This song features guest vocalists The Creole
Choir of Cuba, Nicolette and Mel Gara and is a re-working of the 1970s
psychedelic soul classic. The three sets of vocals are underpinned by the
funk-laden chords and flourishes of Sammy's jazz-infused piano playing. Page
chose the song to cover because of Sammy's love of 1970s and '80s American
music, and brought in those artists because together they told the story of a
journey from Africa to the Caribbean, via the Middle East and Europe.
The song brings with it the sunshine of the Caribbean,
carried by the uplifting rich vocals of the Choir, as well as the urban tones
of the British-based singers.
7.
Dance With the Legend: a solo piano piece, which takes its inspiration from a
song by Ethiopia's
great singer Tilahun Gessese. The tune swings with a lilting rhythm and ripples
with classical and jazz influences.
8.
My Head: Recorded in the UK,
with the regular Dub Colossus horn section, this track is an upbeat latin
number.
9.
Drop Me There: This piano solo written by Sammy features three of Ethiopian
music's distinctive melodic scales and was written at Real World Studios last
winter. "It was very quiet there," says Sammy of his time at Real
World, "so I could really feel every note when I played."
10.
The Blues of Wollo: Based on a famous Ethiopian song called Ambassel, featuring
both traditional and modern instruments. Recorded in Addis, with wonderful
keening vocals from Genet Masresha.
Bonus
Track
11.
African Diaspora: featuring and co-written by Nicolette, African Diaspora is a
melancholic song which demands "Africa,
why are you letting your people leave?" The song reverberates with muted
horns and the gentle tones of Sammy's piano playing.
Reviews
...young
Ethiopian pianist who blends his soul and jazz influences with music of his
homeland.
(Guzo)
stacks up well next to the best music of swinging Addis. His three solo piano
pieces show huge range: "Drop Me There" is crystalline and
delicate..."Dance with the Legend" is as fluid as Keith Jarrett in Koln.
Downbeat
4 **** (USA)
No.
2 in Rhapsody's Top 10 World Albums...
Sometimes
an album just takes your breath away. Swirling together contemporary jazz and
Ethiopian grooves with a graceful boldness and elegant subtlety that makes this
Addis Ababa-born pianist's youth hard to believe, Guzo lures you in from the
first creeping...
Rhapsody (Online USA)
Yirga's
debut offers surprise after surprise.
Samuel
Yirga is a pianist from Ethiopia
whose debut record "Guzo"sits somewhere in the fertile ground where
jazz mingles with R&B and funk to create soulful beauty. ...Yirga's
appetite is big, and each surprise within Guzo renders easy comparisons
useless. Yirga's debut offers surprise after surprise.
Los Angeles Times (USA)
CD
of the year...Otherworldly jazz from young Ethiopian pianist with dizzying
potential
This
is both a bang up-to-the-minute album, but also a throwback to the glory days
of Ethiopian jazz in the late 1960s and 1970s... the balance of instrumentation
between brass, percussion and piano is a thing of wonder. ... the potential is
dizzying and his joy in playing transmits wonderfully to the listener.
The
Arts Desk (Online)
one
of the most exciting and innovative jazz players in the world.
(Samuel
Yirga's) classical sensibilities fused with the native folk sound has made this
young artist one of the most exciting and innovative jazz players in the world.
Huffington
Post (USA)
Samuel
Yirga: A Prodigy Reviving Ethiopian Jazz
Yirga
has had to fight for his right to be himself, and in the end, the voice and
vision of a distinctive composer shines through in this impressive debut.
NPR
Music Online (USA)
...masterfully
produced...
...his
new album Guzo is a talented blend of sounds...and sparkling cameo
performances.
The
Africa Report (UK)
...fierce
debut...an essential purchase for anyone...
who
has fallen for the jazzier end of the ethiopiques spectrum. Among the
highlights here - the swinging groove of My head...and I Am The Black Gold of
the Sun.
Mojo (UK)
Powerful
and beautiful...9 out of 10
Stereoplay (Germany)
...Yirga
should be an exciting prospect to discover for any jazz fan.
One
moment he's pouring out emotive, classical jazz, the next fusing traditional
Ethiopian sounds and Ethiojazz with sparse piano and elements of funk, or
working alongside soulful guest vocalists.
Loughborough
echo online (UK)
...rich
beyond its measure.
...some
outstanding jazz soloing...
The
Weekend Australian (Australia)
...an
enjoyably diverse set as leader.
Guzo
ranges from ruminative solo piano to the ebullient party blast of My Head...
The Creole Choir of Cuba join him for an epic take on the psychedelic soul
groove I Am The Black Gold of The Sun.
The
Times (UK)
Guzo
- Track 5 on Songlines Top of the World
...It's
not often that one is greeted by such a strong debut, so effortlessly shot
through with intelligence and creativity. ...a project that successfully takes
the tunes and arrangements of Ethiopia's
much-documented golden age and updates the into a modern setting, consolidating
their originality and power in the process.
Songlines (UK)
...
it's a great introduction
If
you're already a fan of Ethiojazz, this is as good an indication as any of its
new direction and if you're unfamiliar with the genre, it's a great introduction.
The
Morning Star (UK)
Dub
Colossus's young Ethiopian pianist is an incandescent talent.
The
Independent (UK)
Summer
anthem? Recon so.
(I
am the Black Gold of the Sun)...some sublime vocals from The Creole Choir Of Cuba..
Echoes (UK)
...His
talent is remarkable
...influences
of blues and funk clearly audible in the slower parts, while the frantic
rhythms gripped listeners with anxiety.
Spaceship
News, Perth
(Live review from The Ellington Jazz
Club)
....an
impressive album.
The
Guardian (UK)
...accomplished
debut.
Yirga
draws on his country's best-known musical currency - the dark flavours of
Seventies Ethio-Jazz - on this accomplished debut.
The
Daily Telegraph (UK)
...solo
mixture of abstraction and funky jamming
...solo
mixture of drifting Monkish abstraction and HeadHunter-styled Hammond
and Rhodes funky jamming. 'I Am The Black Gold
Of The Sun' benefits from the Creole Choir Of Cuba's blissful gospel singing.
The
Financial Times (UK)
Impressive
debut from Ethio-jazz pianist - 7/10
Twentysomething
Yirga is a man on a mission - to become Ethiopia's greatest pianist. He's
surely halfway there. The best tracks here align him convincingly with the
rediscovered 'Ethio Jazz' of the 1960's - "Twista", with its funky
one-string fiddle, both entice.
Uncut
Magazine (UK)
Incredible
... this album has absolutely blown my socks off!
Gilles
Peterson - BBC 6 Music (UK)
An
impressive debut album that attests to the originality of its author.
Guzo,
the debut set by Ethiopian pianist Samuel Yirga, is such a set. In short, this
is an impressive debut album that attests to the originality and expressiveness
of its author.
BBC
Music Online (UK)
It
goes without question that Yirga has talent...Yirga is a performer.
...his
debut solo album Guzo is sure to launch him straight into the forefront. It
goes without question that Yirga has talent; every track demonstrates
virtuosity and jazz know-how....Yirga is a performer. The album oozes with
feeling and heart. Every track is so full of artistic sensibility that it's
hard not to be sucked up in the performance. ...piano solos like 'Yeh Bati
Koyita' and 'Drop Me There', which are painfully beautiful. ...rarely is an
album able to bring it's audience along for a passionate ride, full of ups and
downs. Guzo does exactly that. And if Yirga can perform with such spirit on an
album, I can only imagine what it would be like to hear him live, something I
am definitely looking forward to.
NOMAD's
Playlist (Australia)
...melodic
themes that touched the heart.
Though
sparingly unleashed, his deliberate, eastern-inflected solos were thoroughly
transporting. The frantic final selection, 6 and 4, married a northern
Ethiopian mode to a southern rhythm...propulsive interplay with bassist Yoseph
Hailemariam Bekele and star drummer Nathaniel Zewde sounded like top-flight
funk in anybody's language.
The
Age & The Canberra Times (Live review from Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
International Jazz Festival) (Australia)
...one
of the most thrilling bands on the world stage.
His
opening solo piece was staggering in its invention, facility and narrative
skill. He led us through a fantasia of idioms, drawing on Ethiopian, jazz,
Cuban, funk and classical...with the ease of one with a deep understanding of
the convergence of their essences, rather than the disparity of their surfaces.
On Tiwista his improvising was seismic in its power and transporting in its
range... Feleke Woldemariam (tenor saxophone), Nathaniel Zewde (drums) and
Yoseph Hailemariam (electric bass), musicians worthy of Yirga's singular gifts.
Woldemariam played with a fluttering quality to his notes...suddenly the
commonplace tenor saxophone became exotic and carried immense emotional sway.
The explosive Abet Abet...Rhythmically the piece metamorphosed into the sort of
funk that would lead some people to lock up their children rather than let them
be corrupted by such raw, visceral and wanton music. breathtaking in its
intricacy and complexity, while maintaining inexorable grooves.
The
Brisbane Times (Live review from The Blue Beat Jazz Club) (Australia)
...staggeringly
brilliant album.
Samuel
Yirga is a bright new musical flame who shows that Ethiopia's rich jazz heritage is
still alive and thriving in his young hands.
Sydney
Morning Herald (Australia)
One
of the world's more remarkable young pianists is a 26-year-old Ethiopian who
did not even touch a piano until he was 16.
...highly
diverse - variously solo or ensemble, instrumental or vocal, 'pop' or not. Guzo
includes three jaw-dropping piano-only cuts; they do not imitate Keith Jarrett
but are in the same league as his solo flights.
Preview
- The Weekend Planet Radio (Australia)
....Yirga
is such an exciting artist
...that
deserves the recognition he is getting. Guzo is just a taster of what is yet to
come from this talented artist.
Musika.uk.com
(UK)
"It
has all the ingredients of a masterpiece and certainly those that make it top
of my playing list. Great balance between avant garde jazz and sweet r&b
vibe in some tracks and those Ethiopian scales... all tracks are
outstanding!"
JPR
at Simply Out Of This World/Covent Garden Radio
(UK)
I
feel very privileged to have an early preview of this fantastic album." Juice FM
It
seems he's pulled out all the stops. His classical music experience shows in
his sensitive and thoughtful approach to his solo piano work like Ye Bati
Koyita and Drop Me There and at the same time can make a beautiful Charles
Stepney tune like I am the Black Gold of the Sun sound fresh yet again.
Powerful and dynamic performances on other tracks recorded with the UK and
Ethiopian musicians show off his improvisational style but I keep returning to
his solo piano work. Thoroughly rewarding album."
R E U P L O A D Wudasse was born out of the desire of three Ethiopian musicians to express the beauty and grace of Ethiopian music through the language of Jazz. This first offering is unique in several ways. For one, the all the songs on the album were recorded in front of a live audience, which is a rarity in Ethiopian music circles. And then there is the make up of the band, three Ethiopians and two American musicians, brought together by circumstance and their love of music, doing their best to create music they love even under the roughest of circumstances.
So how did it all begin? Well, four years ago Teferi (drums) visits Jorga (saxophone) in Atlanta to attend Fasilâs (bass) wedding. While staying at Jorgaâs house, the two rent a drum set and start experimenting and jamming on Ethiopian rhythms and scales. In fact, it turned out that both Jorga and Teferi had similar ideas on how to respectfully adapt Ethiopian scales and rhythms to fit into a Jazz context. Teferi goes back to California, and Fasil and Jorga start performing together in local clubs. Two years later, Teferi joins them in Atlanta and Wudasse was born.
Much can also be said about the music creation process. Each band member was equally responsible for the final sound and feel of each song. In fact, most of the songs were arranged with minimal conversation and direction, and all the songs evolved while being repeatedly performed around several Atlanta jazz clubs. Although a lot can be said about each piece on the album, we think the Tigrinya based âaba gerima"deserves special attention. The song starts with Jorga on the keyboard imitating the sounds of the Embilta, a long thin horn that can only produce a few notes. In the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the Embilta is played in an ensemble format by three or more players. Each player is responsible for two or three notes, and therefore has to really listen to his partners to create on cohesive melodic idea. What you hear at the beginning of the song is the keyboard trying to create that infectious Embilta vibe. This vibe is present through out the music true to the original Embilta playing style of the Tigray people. The rhythm played by Teferi on the drums demonstrates the kind of respect and study he has dedicated to Ethiopian rhythms. Teferi respectfully transfers the Guayla rhythm to the modern drum set while at the same time keeping a killer grove underneath the Embilta. And then there is Fasil who is anchoring the whole thing down with his deep grooves. However the song is not complete without Dale Saunders playing the mournful yet meditative melody on his guitar, and Asa (the fish) adding the finishing touches to the rhythm on percussion. Now imagine the song being developed without any conversation or direction from anyone. It is true! It can be said that the song was waiting to be born and all it needed was for the five Wudasse members to be midwives.
The other songs are as equally fascinating. "Ete mete" represents the children song which naturally modulates rhythmically from 6/8 to 7/4. âmegemeriaâ starts with a slow grove that builds to represent the best of Ethiopian jazz-rock-fusion. âdeleqaâ is an experiment in approaching the 6/8 Chikchika rhythm in 7/4 time. But this might not mean much to all the non-musician music lovers who wouldnât care less is the song was in 6/2 or 7/8 as long as it grooves hard the touches the soul.
We hope you enjoy listening to the music as much as we enjoyed creating it. We thank the Master Creator for the universe and all that is in it. We would like to thank all our families for the love and sacrifice they paid for our love (and sometimes obsession) for music. We thank Queen of Sheba Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia for supporting the band and its music for an entire year, even when the band members on stage out numbered the number of people in the audience. We thank the Five Spots Club in Little Five Points, Atlanta for offering us such a great performing space and for giving us these priceless recordings of our bands sound. And we thank you for buying this CD and supporting Ethiopian musicians and Ethiopian music.
Girma Beyene was one of the arrangers who made the Ethiopian music of the Golden Era different than the music of today. He was a lyricist, a music writer, an arranger, a vocalist, an accomplished pianist and finally a bandleader. To most, if any name comes to mind with the word arranger, it is probably that of Mulatu Astatke. Yet, according to Ethiopiques Series producer Francis Falceto*, in the heyday of vinyl records, Girma Beyene is credited to having arranged close to 65 titles, compared to Mulatu's 40.
The 7th edition of the Ethiopian Music Festival held from the 7th to 17 May 2008 in Addis Ababa. Organized by the Alliance Ethio-Francise as a part of its centenary celebration and as a tribute to the Ethiopian pianist, composer and arranger Girma Beyene, the festival bring renowned and young musicians.
Francis Falceto in his book Abyssinia Swing, a pictorial history of modern ethiopian music describes Girma as one of a pioneering generation of artists that has a huge influence on the current ethiopian music. From the very beginning of the 1960’s and for some twenty years, he ranked among the ethiopian musical scene’s most creative and prolific artists. He left precious few recordings behind him as a vocalist: it was above all as a pianist, organist, composer and arranger that Girma made his mark on what is today agreed to be the golden age of ethiopian music. Throughout the heyday of Vinyl record production (1969-1978), the figure of Girma Beyene dominated the recording sessions. The then-privileged partner of Alemayehu Eshete, Girma innovated, through his simple and to-the-point playing, melding the lightness of pop into the ethos of a changing Ethiopia. Admired for his musical elegance, Girma none the less met one of the saddest fates in ethiopian music. Though his countrymen still remember his charming voice and his knack for pop, they have totally forgotten his role and importance as an innovator.
Going into exile in the USA in 1981, Girma departed the ethiopian music scene, sinking into the anonymous “Little Ethiopia’ of America’s East Coast. According the Alliance booklet, there has been a renewed interest of late in the work and personality of Girma Beyene. International groups such as the Either/ Orchestra, The Daktaris, Le Tigre (Platanes), The Ex, Badume's Band and Antibalas have added some of Girma’s major compositions to their repertoires.