Trio Kazanchis got together by coincidence in 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's musical hotspot while playing jam sessions in Melaku Belay's Club Fendika and Mulatu Astatke's own African-Jazz Club before touring Europe in underground venues and related festivals.
Kazanchis +1 plays songs with an Ethiopian origin, either modern or traditional, and a European '80s touch, combined with free energetic improvisation using highly-developed Ethiopian pentatonic scales, from slow and trance-like to up-tempo, energetic moods. The band's choice of instruments presented itself on European stages as very elastic, nicely melting together, and also as a challenging combination -- all-in-all successful.
Mesele Asmamaw, described as the Jimi Hendrix of the electric krar (the 6-string Ethiopian lyre), has become known as an innovator & virtuoso of his instrument in Ethiopia. Fabien Duscombs, the quicksilver drummer from Toulouse lays down the perfect grid for Mesele to play his syncopating accents. Jeroen Visser glues the two tightly together, providing bass and chords with his Farfisa organ/synth, or challenges their sounds with his baritone sax. Since the summer of 2013, the amazing masinqo-player (a one-stringed violin) Endris Hassen has become a full member of the group, completing the sound and surprisingly even reinforcing the trio-feel.
Trio Kazanchis’ Mèssèlè Asmamaw has been selected as 2013 Best Miscellaneous Instrumentalist at www.africanjazz.info.
Tezeta Band is the sound of memory, of nostalgia, of sweaty soulful dance music, part jazz, part motown, part Ethiopian folk music, inspired by and arranged from the Golden Age of Ethiopian music, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Imagine James Brown, Elvis Presley, and John Coltrane merged into one sound, one source, melting together in the clubs and lounges of Ethiopia.
Tezeta Bandis a musical reunion of The Five Fingers of Funk (Talbott Guthrie-drums, Ted Hille - Saxophone, Tim Cook - Keyboards, Curt Bieker - Trombone & Josh Prewitt - Trumpet) formed in 1992 with rapper Pete Miser. For nearly ten years, the Five Fingers were the premier 100% Live Northwest Hip-Hop experience that rocked stages from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine and opened for such acts as De La Soul, The Roots, Maceo Parker, Fishbone,Run DMC, Digital Underground, Bootsy Collins and The Greyboy Allstars.
Now, with the help of Brent Martens (From Asylum Street Spankers and currently the Escapists, Royal Motel Orchestra, and Duo Royale) and Bassist/Composer John Teagle. In 2006 the idea for the band came after a few members came across the Ethiopiques CD series and were inspired to put together a weekly session based on this music. Quickly realizing that they were on to a new challenge that was both exciting and unique, the band was formed and has evolved since.
Ever since its creation, the band Le Tigre des Platanes (the ‘Sycamore Tiger’) has been into travelling, in the image of the insect it draws its name from —the Corythucha ciliata, better known as the sycamore lace bug, which accidentally arrived in Europe in the early 1970s.
Hailing from Toulouse in Southern France, this acoustic quartet has always proudly proclaimed its disorderly musical borrowings, blendings and appropriation of influences from other cultures.
In 2001, Le Tigre des Platanes discovered the Ethiopiques series, and they soon included some chosen Ethiopian pieces in their eclectic repertoire, interpreting them in their own personal fashion. During a trip to Addis Abeba, they met Etenesh Wassie, a singer with a husky voice, a kind of Abyssinian sister of Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday . They undertook the challenge of playing together with beautiful Ethiopian standards, really exploring in a reciprocal way the new musical territories open to the five musicians and a world made of the true sum of their personalities.
This wonderful collaboration of the French jazz group Le Tigre and Ethiopian singer Etenesh Wassie results in music that is visceral, infectious, and culminates with some of the most progressive world music in recent memory.
"The group is named after the sycamore lace bug (Corythucha ciliata), the nasty little tree-killing insect that was imported to Europe by accident from North America in the early 1970s. In the spirit of its namesake, the Toulouse quartet is all about crossing borders, import, export, invasion, retreat..."
And that's a fitting description of what's in store; an authentic multi-colored quilt with the sounds of Ethiopia and other locales, free jazz, hard pounding rock, all spiced and enticed by the voice and lyrics of Wassie's earthy ethnic tongue.
A guttural incantation of growling baritone sax and evocative Ethiopian dialect commences the recording with "Medinanna Zelessegna" yet the mood quickly shifts into the jumping "Muziqawi Silt" where the two-horn affront of Marc Demereau's sax and Piero Pepin's trumpet is ignited by the pulsating heartbeat of bassist Mathieu Sourisseau and drummer Fabien Duscombs.
A truly eclectic mix of sounds is experienced: the koto-like banjo on "Ambassel Fantay," the feverish ancestral dance on "Tche Belew" (one of many highlights), where Sourisseau's bass is strummed like a chorded guitar (or vice versa) and the horns interact in agreement and discord—totally and hypnotic.
These excellent musicians play with abandon that at times has the intensity of a Nirvana performance of "Smells Like Teen like Spirit." Distorted strings and cyclonic horns carry "Yezemed Yebaed" and a throbbing drum and bass on "Ney-Ney Weleba" as Demereau's baritone and voice both scream. Oliver Cussac's toy-like organ intonations color the tempered "Awash" a piece where the group finds respite.
Wassie's haunting voice (which has also been heard in Buda's Ethiopiques series) adds mystery and non-translated meaning on tunes such as "Man Yehon Telleq Sew" where her interaction with the music is perfect. With gentleness and a coarse vibrato she exudes a timeless quality on "Ambassel" that is undeniable and when combined with Le Tigre,Ethiosonic is a journey like no other.
Either/Orchestra with Tsedenia Markos live in Ethiopia - Bati
The Either/Orchestra (E/O) is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, in 1985.
E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones. E/O's is characterized by a heavier and more orchestrated sound than that of a smaller jazz combo, but remains more streamlined and improvisation-oriented than most big bands.
With a small but significant change of instrumentation - add congas/percussion, remove one trombone - and major changes in personnel - only bandleader Russ Gershon and veterans Tom Halter and Charlie Kohlhase are holdovers from their last album - the E/O has made its most sensual, rhythm-heavy recording ever.
Famous for the breadth of its musical vision, the E/O rides the powerful drums of Harvey Wirht, from Suriname, and the exciting congas of Vicente Lebron, from the Dominican Republic, on a trip from North American jazz/blues/funk, to Latin jazz, and Township jazz/calypso, to Ethiopian pop tunes from the '70s. All of these grooves are incorporated into original compositions by Gershon, except for the three Ethiopian tunes which have been arranged by the band.
The result is an intoxicating brew, forceful and seductive, with memorable melodies, superb ensemble playing and some of the best soloing ever heard in the long history of the Either/Orchestra. This is without a doubt the most accessible E/O album ever. The groove emphasis brings the E/O's tradition of challenging writing and cutting edge playing into a form that will be enjoyed by fans of African music, Latin music, even reggae and jam bands, without losing the core of E/O fans and jazz critics.
Tom Halter - trumpet, flugelhorn
Colin Fisher - trumpet, flugelhorn
Joel Yennior - trombone
Jaleel Shaw - alto saxophone
Russ Gershon - tenor, soprano saxophones
Charlie Kohlhase - baritone saxophone
Dan Kaufman - Steinway, Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond B-3
Rick McLaughlin - bass
Harvey Wirht - drums
Vicente Lebron - congas, bongos, percussion
1. Amiak Abet Abet (Teshome Sissay; arr. by E/O; 10:03) 2. Number Three (10:20) 3. More Beautiful than Death (10:46) 4. Musicawi Silt (Girma Beyene; arr. by E/O; 6:21) 5. Breaktime for Dougo (8:35) 6. All Those SOBs (8:58) 7. Slow Mambo for J.J. (4:53) 8. Feker Aydelmwey (Ayalew Mesfin; arr. by E/O; 7:09) 9. The Eighth Wonder (6:54)
The E/O began performing original arrangements of Ethiopian songs, inspired by a compilation called Ethiopian Groove: the Golden 70s.
In 2000, after three of these songs appeared on the album More Beautiful than Death, Francis Falceto, the producer of Ethiopian Groove, contacted Gershon and eventually arranged an invitation for the E/O to play at the Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababa in 2004. Along with Indo-British singer Susheela Raman the same year, the E/O was the first non-Ethiopian artist to appear in the festival, and was the first US big band to appear in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington's in 1973.
Their concert at the festival was recorded and ultimately appeared in Falceto's Ethiopiques series on the French Buda Musique label.
Five Ethiopian guests appear on the recording: Mulatu Astatke, Getatchew Mekurya, Tsedenia Markos, Bahta Hewet and Michael Belayneh. This tour and recording have led to an ongoing collaboration with Astatke, the primary founder of Ethiopian jazz, concerts with Ethiopian expatriates singer Hana Shenkute, krar player Minale Dagnew, masinko player Setegn Atanaw, and the great Ethiopian singer Mahmoud Ahmed with whom E/O released a DVD in 2007.
Mahmoud Ahmed and fellow legendary Ethiopian singer Alemayehu Eshete played Lincoln Center Out of Doors in 2008 backed by E/O.
The group debuted a collaboration with vocalist Teshome Mitiku in the summer of 2010, including a headlining appearance at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
Nubian Arkis tremendously experimental and has taken the fusion of jazz and Ethiopian music to new levels.
1. Nubian Ark - Diminished Heaven (4:31)
2. Nubian Ark - Mamite (8:15)
3. Nubian Ark - Nine Lives (7:32)
A tight 7 piece jazz-funk combo playing a mixture of original compositions mixed with excursions intoEthiopian standards, Nubian Ark is an exciting new addition to the Addis musical scene. Driven by bass, drums and keyboards with the three piece horn section (2 sax and trombone) and percussion adding punch and color, Nubian Ark delivers an exciting live show.
Badume's Band is a eight-piece, atypical Breton (French) group that masterfully recreates the intoxicating sounds of the Ethiopian Golden Era of Music - when Addis Ababa was grooving to the sound of twist, soul, rhythm & blues and jazz in the 1970s. They have become the official backing band of Mahmoud Ahmed & Alemayéhu Eshété.
1. Badume's Band - Sab Sam Argign (4:38) 2. Badume's Band - Yemewded Neger (4:35) 3. Badume's Band - Qelemewa (4:03) 4. Badume's Band - Mela Mela (6:34)
Eric Menneteau (vocals), Xavier Pusset (tenor saxophone), Pierre-Yves Mérel (tenor saxophone), Frank Le Masle (keyboards), Rudy Blas (guitar), Etienne Callac (bass), Antonin Volson (drums), Jonathan Volson (percussion)
The orchestra's repertoire consists of revamped remakes from the Golden Age of Modern Ethiopian music (1969-1978). Visiting each of the foremost artists of period in turn, Imperial Tiger Orchestra blends Ethiopian rhythms with their own influences. Playing music that is usually sung, this entirely instrumental group emphasizes the dark and hypnotic grooves of the rhythmn as well as the polished, ethereal brass themes. Improvisations, a play on texture and dynamics, distorted sounds and "noise" complete the whole.
Theodros Mitikuwas one of the most talented and versatile Ethiopian musicians. Teddy's passion for music emerged at an early age when he was given an alto saxophone by his second grade music teacher, and his talent has continued to flourish. For the past 36 years, "Teddy Mitty," as he is known to his fans, has been enthralling audiences with his unique playing style and mastery of the saxophone. Starting in 1962 Teddy has performed with the "The Soul Echoes", later called "Ibex Band", "The Menelik Band" and other bands in Egypt and the United States, finally returning to Ethiopia after a fifteen year absence.
Teddy breaks new ground on this amazing album; the first acoustic Ethiopian/jazz blend record ever to be produced.
Given the considerable number of African Jews living in Ethiopia, it makes perfect cultural sense for Israeli pianistYitzhak Yedid to team up with Ethiopian sax man and vocalist Abatte Barihun to explore the music of Ethiopia on Ras Deshen, a work which mines the common musical ground shared by their countries. Yedid and Abatte performed selections from the disc recently at a reception at Alice Tully Hall and didn’t let the crowd’s lack of attentiveness diminish the passion of their playing.
'Ras Dashen Duo' Abate Berihun & Yitzhak Yedid in concert
The opening “Anchi Hoye,” written by Abatte, is named for one of the four modes of Ethiopian music. Abatte plays the tenor with a measured tension and clear tenderness that manages to reference both Pres and Trane. Yedid’s brooding timbre, interior dialogue and chord progressions are so reminiscent of Keith Jarrett that his solo could be dropped seamlessly into the grooves of The Köln Concert.
On “Batti,” Abatte enhances his soprano saxophone with soaring vocals in Amharic. When he performed this song at the reception, his voice cut through the conversation and, at least momentarily, demanded everyone’s attention. Abatte’s tenor on “Yehar Shererit” has a palpable R&B/gospel tinge, with an occasional gutbucket growl added for good measure, working in tandem with Yedid’s playful boogie-woogie chaos. “Fikir” is a beautifully ruminative discourse that sounds quite Middle Eastern in its execution, with Abatte’s serpentine tenor weaving around Yedid’s lush, symphonic piano riffs.
Yedid lays out on “Birtukane,” giving the floor to Fentahon Malessa on krar, an Ethiopian lyre that sounds close to a guitar and gives the music another rich dimension. On “Ambassel,” another modal tune, Abatte solos powerfully over Malessa’s repeated figure. Yedid lays out again and one can only wonder how all three instruments would have sounded together.
Perhaps the disc’s most arresting tune, however, is “Behatito Kadus Kadus.” With Yedid vamping in a Fats Waller vein, Abatte lifts his voice again and could be singing about a hellhound on his trail, instead of invoking a prayer. Abatte’s tenor grooves between Ethiopia and the Mississippi Delta, ending this excellent disc on a high note.
Ethiopian jazz band Ras Deshen hopes to take their music to new heights in the Holy Land. Barry Davis gets a lift
The terms "Ethiopia" and "jazz" may not, initially, appear to be the most comfortable of bedfellows. Most people naturally associate music from anywhere in Africa with driving tribal rhythms. Then again, jazz is essentially a form of black music introduced to the Western world by artists who originated from Africa.
Addis Ababa-born saxophonist Abate Berimun, the first and, to date, only Ethiopian jazz musician in Israel, will demonstrate the accuracy of that juxtaposition when he leads a performance by the Ras Deshen band this Tuesday at the Jerusalem Cultures Center as part of the Israel Jazz Showcase series dedicated to promoting Israeli jazz. Abate will be supported by pianist Yitzhak Yedid and Maleseh Fantahon, who will play the krar - a sort of small African harp.
In fact, Abate has several strings to his musical bow. "He can play numerous types of music from Ethiopia," explains Moshe Bar-Yudai, former chairman of the National Arts Council (Omanut La'am) and the driving force behind an ongoing project to establish an Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center in Rehovot.
"Each region of Ethiopia has its own musical traditions. There is also the Christian liturgical style, which is similar to the Jewish liturgical form. Abate plays both and many more."
Apparently, the catchphrase-oriented world of the latter part of the 20th century was able to accommodate improvised music from Abate's homeland too, and the term "Ethiojazz" came into being in the late Sixties when musicians like Addis Ababa resident Mulatu Astatqe and Cameroon jazz superstar Manu Dibango were putting out a captivating mix of indigenous African music seasoned with soul, salsa and other black rhythms.
When Abate arrived in Israel in late 1999 he was already an established star in the Ethiopian jazz firmament. He had toured Europe many times over a period of 10 years and was a regular feature of the jazz shows put on by the Hilton and Sheraton hotels in Addis Ababa.
He first picked up a saxophone at the age of 17. He says he does not come from a particularly musical family, although he has fond memories of his father's closet vocal prowess. He was initially inspired to take up an active interest in music by his neighbors.
"There was a military brass band that used to practice just down the road from my house," Abate recalls. "I could hear them from my room. I loved the sound of the wind instruments and the saxophones." Suitably bitten by the musical bug, Abate got his hands on a saxophone and found his way to the music school in Addis Ababa. It was there that he began to take his new love seriously. "I did it all myself," he says.
"I told my mother I was going to the music school but my father used to spend a long time away from home and he didn't know about it at the beginning."
Abate's father first discovered his son was a budding musician when Abate invited him to one of his first gigs. "I remember that so well," says Abate. "As soon as my father heard me play he began jumping up and down with glee. He was so happy and proud of me."
The music school not only provided Abate with formal training in jazz, it also allowed him to listen to records of some of the legendary masters, like Charlie Parker. "We had some records at home when I was growing up, but they weren't jazz. My father worked with the Italians before World War II and he got hold of albums by Frank Sinatra and some Italian singers. That was all. But I could get hold of jazz records when I was at the school."
BEFORE LONG Abate had become proficient and confident enough to be able to strut his stuff in public, and he soon secured regular work at the Hilton and Sheraton hotels in the Ethiopian capital. "I played there every day for eight years," Abate says.
Those gigs also provided him with an opportunity to meet tourists from abroad who sometimes brought jazz records with them. There were also occasional visits by foreign jazz artists, such as Manu Dibango, and Abate was able to hone his skills in the company of far more experienced fellow professionals.
When he was 21, Abate began touring Europe with his own band and, until he moved here eight years later, he went on the road for several weeks three times a year visiting Sweden, Holland, Germany, England and France. He says it was quite an experience, for all concerned.
"It was wonderful to see places outside Africa, and the Europeans were excited to hear the music we played. But we worked hard. We generally played five days a week every week for three months." Abate's last European tour ended just three weeks before he came on aliya.
However, since arriving in the Promised Land, his professional fortunes have changed dramatically - for the worse. Initially lacking local language skills - he now speaks Hebrew reasonably well - and unable to find regular work as a jazz musician, he resorted to almost all manner of menial work to keep body and soul together. For a long time he worked a daily shift as a restaurant dishwasher in the morning followed by an all-night shift as a security guard.
"The dishwashing was ruining his hands," says Bar-Yudai, "so we decided to do something." That help came in the form of a small stipend, organized through the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage organization, to enable Abate to get by just on his nocturnal work. "When I was doing both jobs I couldn't practice or perform. I didn't have the time or the strength," says Abate.
Not that things are exactly rosy now. "It's still hard for me to practice." And Abate's compositional efforts are not helped by not having ready access to a piano.
However, one leading member of the local music community, veteran rocker Ariel Zilber, has given Abate some much needed stage time and occasional public exposure. "Ariel has helped me a lot," says Abate. "I've played with him all over the country." The Zilber-Abate synergy also produced a number called "Ethiopian Song," which has been performed on television, in Hebrew and Amharic.
Despite his daily hardships, and drastic drop in professional standing, compared with his life in Ethiopia, Abate remains hopeful that things will work out in the end and that he will be able to make a living here as a full-time musician. His current project with pianist Yedid promises to bear fruit. Besides the forthcoming show, the two are working on a CD based on a mix of Yedid's classically based avant-garde material and Abate's blend of jazz and African strains. The latter include various Ethiopian modes or scales, with names such as Ambasel, Amchihoya, Batti and Tezita, all of which are used for ballads.
Yedid, who spends some of his working hours running Jerusalem's Swedish Chef venue for original jazz music and Third Stream music, is delighted to have the chance to work with the Ethiopian. Yedid and Abate were originally brought together by radio presenter and ethnic-music expert Shlomo Yisraeli.
"Shlomo suggested I do something with Abate," Yedid says. "We got together and we hit it off musically right from the start. I felt he was an amazing musician. He is a jazz artist but he adds African scales. He plays in an Ethiopian style on an instrument which isn't at all Ethiopian."
The Yedid-Abate chemistry worked so well that they were in a recording studio after just two rehearsals. Thus far, they have recorded five tracks as part of the album they hope to complete in the not too distant future. Yedid does have some experience of working with Ethiopian musicians, but he says playing with Abate is a different kettle of fish.
"I played with a couple of singers a few years ago, but this is a much more serious proposition. Abate is an improviser. He has a very special sense of musical structure - a very long structure. He can play for a long time, it's almost like Indian music."
Yedid feels that Abate has something he has never encountered with any other jazz musician he has worked with. "You can feel his African roots. He is almost meditative in his way of playing." By all accounts, it looks like next week's show should provide Jerusalem music lovers with a remarkable experience. Let's hope there will be plenty more from Abate before too long.
