Imperial Tiger Orchestra - [2013] - Wax [swiss+ethiopia]

Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Le Le Le

       After two albums and a short but well-documented history, Imperial Tiger Orchestra (aka the Tigers) strikes back with a mighty new album, “Wax”, comprising nine killer tracks of tight funk and free-spirited trance wrapped in luscious arrangements. Still inspired by African masters – but not necessarily those you might have thought of – The Tigers have this time delved into the traditional azmari repertoire to uncover astonishing nuggets of synth- and horn-heavy grooviness. Get ready for a journey into the heart of Ethiopia.

          When Imperial Tiger Orchestra first started unravelling the yarn of Ethiopian Music from the Golden Age (1969 – 1975), no one expected the thread to be so long and no one knew where it might end.

          Inspired by original albums that the band found while shopping for rare musical gems on a first visit to Addis Ababa in 2009, Imperial Tiger Orchestra released a first record in 2010, the aptly-named Addis Abeba, which explored

          Ethiopian music from the 70s – when traditional Ethiopian brass bands began feeding off American soul. The second release, Mercato, veered towards a more pop-inspired repertoire from the 80s, and the latest release goes one step further, taking the listener deeper into Ethiopian culture, from the unique sounds of the azmari repertoire to the hypnotic groove of the major tribes.

       After three years touring Europe, Imperial Tiger Orchestra has acquired a solid reputation as a mighty groove machine. The band has also taken its acid riffs to the African continent, touring South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe back in 2010. Having been invited to Addis Ababa by the renowned producer of the Ethiopiques series, Francis Falceto, the Tigers were proud to meet many of the local musicians who work to reshape traditional Ethiopian music. Based in and around Geneva, Switzerland, Imperial Tiger Orchestra has also worked with musicians and dancers from the Ethiopian diaspora, receiving their rewarding approval and blessing for their own original take on Ethiopian music.

        Wax: 80s synths meet traditional kebero percussions and daring rhythms. Gorgeous horn arrangements enwrap powerful bass lines and saturated electronic beats. All of this in a room where the sun pierces through the walls, where spirits dance and bodies are entranced.

   tracklist   

1. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Konso    06:19 

2. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Lelele    04:55

3. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Yasheryshery   05:33 

4. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Bechereka moshete   05:15 

5. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Che Belew    04:01

6. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Shered    03:21

7. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Tgeregna   07:03

8. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - El Naas Elgiafa   04:38

9. Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Sudani Tune   04:16 

   band members :  

Raphael Anker - trumpet, keyboard 

John Menoud - sax, electronics 

Alexandre Rodrigues - keyboards 

Cyril Moulas - bass, phin, krar, guitar 

Luc Detraz - kebero, pads, kayamb 

Julien Israelian - drums, wax machine 

Getu Tirfe - dance 

Emebet Tezazu - dance

Nadav Haber - Summer Song [2014] [israel+ethiopia]

Nadav Haber - Summer Song

         Nadav Haber started to learn the clarinet at the age of 10. In 1988-89 he lead a qaurtet in the Tel-Aviv clubs in Israel, and played in a blues duo. In the 90's nadav has switched to the tenor sax, and began to explore Ethiopian music. 

       He played in Ethiopian dance bands all over Israel, in Ethiopian clubs and weddings. This has lead to the issue of Ethiopian Blues, and other smaller productions that were aimed at the Ethiopian Israeli market. In recent years Nadav moved back to playing jazz, and in 2003 led a hard bop quintet in Jerusalem. He is currently working on two projects - an Ethiopian Jazz program and a “Favorite ballads” program.

01 - Nadav Haber - Summer Song (4:37)

02 - Nadav Haber - Ambassel (5:45)

03 - Nadav Haber - Blue Morning (4:26)

04 - Nadav Haber - Morning Coffee (4:45)

05 - Nadav Haber - Goodbye Romance (4:39)

06 - Nadav Haber - In a Spanish Mood (Malaguena) (5:09)

07 - Nadav Haber - Yes, He Will ! (5:52)

08 - Nadav Haber - No More Heartache (5:31)

09 - Nadav Haber - Nanu Nanu Jazz (6:13)

10 - Nadav Haber - Lake Tana Blues (5:34)

11 - Nadav Haber - From Wollo to Madrid (4:55)

Mulatu Astatke – Sketches of Ethiopia [2013] [ethiopia]

  R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D  

         Sketches of Ethiopia is, extraordinarily, the first album Mulatu Astatke, the godfather of Ethio-jazz, has recorded with his own band for an international label of influence. It has been a long time coming and it is a corker.

         Astatke, on vibraphone and keyboards, is accompanied by his regular touring band, Step Ahead, which has at its core A-list British jazz musicians—among them, trumpeter Byron Wallen, drummer Tom Skinner, 

bassist John Edwards and reed player James Arden. Step Ahead’s 12-piece line-up also includes players of traditional Ethiopian instruments including the masinko (one-string lute), krar (lyre) and washint (bamboo flute). 

      In addition, there are half a dozen guest musicians, who include rising Malian vocalist Fatoumata Diawara, who sings on the final track.

          The album, a mix of originals and arrangements of traditional Ethiopian tunes, is generally hotter and more urgent than you would expect from Astatke’s classic early 1970s recordings. That vibe is revisited on two tracks: “Gumuz,” a traditional melody given a laid back, West Coast jazz-funk arrangement, and Astatke’s “Motherland Abay,” a showcase for the Ethiopian instruments. Elsewhere the album reflects Step Ahead’s up-tempo, dance-friendly live approach. The material is largely through-written and the emphasis is on the ensemble, as always with Astatke: composer/arrangers Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were prominent among his formative jazz influences.


           Born in 1943, Astatke studied in Britain and the US in the 1960s. He returned to Ethiopia towards the end of the decade, in the dog days of Haile Selassie’s imperial rule. State control of the music business was weakening and a handful of enthusiasts were setting up independent labels which the expiring regime lacked the energy to close down. But the audience for Astatke’s music was small, for Ethiopia had no broad tradition of instrumental music. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, ousted Selassie and seized power. Under the Derg, Ethiopia’s fledgling music business was suppressed.


          Internationally, Astatke’s fortunes improved in the late 1990s, when the Paris-based label Buda Musique launched its Ethiopiques reissue series. Volume four, Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969—1974, released in 1998, comprised album tracks and singles recorded by Astatke either under his own name or as arranger/bandleader. 

        People began to pick up on Ethio-jazz, among them US movie director Jim Jarmusch, who featured Astatke’s 1970s recordings prominently on the soundtrack of Broken Flowers (2005). In the film’s wake, Astatke toured and recorded with the Heliocentrics and Either/Orchestra. 


        In 2010, Mochilla released Timeless, recorded in concert in the US with leading local players.


        Sketches of Ethiopia is essentially Astatke and Step Ahead’s live set performed in the studio by an expanded line-up. It makes the transition with resounding success.


Personnel: 

Step Ahead: 

Mulatu Astatke: vibraphone, piano, keyboards; 
Yohanes Afwork: washint; 
James Arben: flute, oboe, tenor saxophone, clarinet; 
Messale Asmamow: krar; 
Richard Olatunde Baker: percussion; 
John Edwards: double bass, bass; 
Indris Hassun: masinko; 
Alexander Hawkins: piano, keyboards; 
Danny Keane: keyboards, cello; 
Tom Skinner: drums; 
Tesfaye: lead vocals (2, 4, 6); 
Byron Wallen: trumpet. 


Guests: 

Fatoumata Diawara: lead vocals (8); 
Francois Cordas: tenor saxophone (5); 
Kandia Kora: kora (2, 4, 7); 
Eric Longsworth: cello (5); 
Jean-Baptiste Saint-Martin: guitar (2, 5, 6); 
Francois Verly: percussion (2-8); 
Memeru: choir leader

Arat Kilo - 12 Days in Addis [2013] [fra+ethiopia]

Arat Kilo - Babur feat. Socalled

       Ethiopian jazz is a major branch of African music that comes from the bars of Addis Ababa and draws its influence from jazz and traditional Ethiopian music, azmari, Latin sounds and Anglo-American funk. Choosing to adapt this music in a contemporary and more urban style, Arat Kilo draws inspiration from rock music and the hypnotic sounds of dub.

  Their show alternates compositions and standard Ethiopian arrangements (a beautiful meeting was held at RFI’s studio with Mulatu Astatké, the father of Ethiopian jazz) 

       Born of a meeting to the Musiqueyras’s festival in July 2008, Arat Kilo is an elecric quintet which revisits the Ethiopian jazz and grooves of the seventies: between modern grooves, compositions and Ethiopian standards.

01 - Arat Kilo - Ankober Hotel (3:42)

02 - Arat Kilo - Lonmewo Lalie (feat. Mimi) (3:24)

03 - Arat Kilo - Sugal Yelem (feat. Mimi) (4:15)

04 - Arat Kilo - Belu Inji (feat. Nardos Tesfaw & Fendika Crew) [Live] (4:00)

05 - Arat Kilo - Babur, Pt. 1 (S.Mos Remix) (3:00)

06 - Arat Kilo - Enie Konjo (Robert le Magnifique Remix) (3:10)

members are :

Fabien Girard - guitar, balafon
Michael Havard - saxophones, flute
Aristide Goncalves - trumpet, keyboards
Samuel Hirsch - bass, kalimba
Arnold Turpin - drums, melodica

Gérald Bonnegrace - congas, bongos

Tezeta Band - Tezeta Band EP [usa] [2010]

                                 
                                               R  E  U  P  L  O  A  D   

           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 Band is 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. 

myspace page

      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.

Mohammed 'Jimmy' Mohammed - Takkabel ! [2006] [ethiopia]

   R    E   U   P   L   O   A   D   

 

   Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed (1958) is a phenomenal blind singer from the bar-circuit in Addis Abeba, born in Mersa, Wollo. Jimmy specializes in the songs of Tlahoun Gessesse, the greatest singer of Ethiopia. Still Jimmy always remains true to himself and sings with both depth and passion, but his style is also improvised and swinging. The songs are about love, politics, and the social life of the poor. 

       But there is also wit and charm and plenty of ‘Wax & Gold’, the typical Ethiopian double meaning. He knows hundreds and hundreds of songs by heart and it is hard to guess which one will come next. Jimmy appears on the Ethiopiques 2 CD, but this is his first full-length CD: ‘Takkabel!’. Recorded last year while in Europe for the Moers Jazz Festival. He is accompanied by Mesele Asmamaw on the krar, a 5 string harp and Asnake Gebreyes on the traditional drums. 

       They are often accompanied by Dutch jazz drummer Han Bennink, who also plays a star-role on the CD.

1.  - Aykedashem lebe  (8:55)

2.  - Sethed Seketelat (6:25)

3.  - Sewetchi Men Yilalu / Tezalegn Yilalu Tezalegn  (11:13)

4.  - Selaseb/Gubel  (10:50)

5.  - Mela Mela (7:15)

6.  - Uuta Ayaskefam / Semat Endateres  (8:54)

7.  - Lantchi Biye / Salamlantchi (9:28)

8.  - Altchalkoum * (8:01)

Personnel:

Mohammed ‘Jimmy’ Mohammed - vocals

Mesele Asmamaw - krar, backing vocals

Asnake Gebreyes - drums, backing vocals

Han Bennink - drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 8)

Getatchew Mekuria - saxophone (2, 3, 5)

Massimo Zu - bass (1)

Debo Band - Debo Band [2012] [usa-ethiopia]

Debo Band - Debo Band [Full Album Stream]

         Debo Band is a 11-piece Ethio-groove collective that has quickly earned an ever-growing and enthusiastic following in the loft spaces, neighborhood bars, and church basements of Boston, MA (USA) performing for American, and Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. Since 2006, Debo Band has been immersed in the unlikely confluence of traditional East African polyrhythms and pentatonic scales, classic American soul and funk music, and the instrumentation of Eastern European brass bands, which produced a unique form of dance music that Ethiopian audiences instantly recognize as the soundtrack of their youth, carried from party to kitchen on the ubiquitous cassette tapes of the time.  And increasingly, erudite American and European audiences are also getting hip to the Ethiopian groove, largely through CD reissues of Ethiopian classics on the Ethiopiques series.

       With a unique instrumentation – including horns, strings, and accordion – that is a nod to the big bands of Haile Selassie’s time, Debo Band is carrying the torch of classic Ethiopian music by giving new life to these old sounds. Their lead vocalist, Bruck Tesfaye, has the kind of pipes that reverberate with the sound of beloved Ethiopian vocalists like Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete.  But Debo Band is not content simply “covering” the older styles – they also perform original compositions and new arrangements of songs from modern and contemporary artists such as Teddy Afro and Roha Band.  Their expansive repertoire and spirited performances have earned them respect and recognition, leading to concert opportunities such as opening for legendary Ethiopian greats Tilahun Gessesse and Getatchew Mekuria. 

       Danny Mekonnen, an Ethiopian-American jazz saxophonist and a PhD candidate in ethnomusicology at Harvard University, created Debo as a way of exploring the unique sounds that filled the dance clubs of “Swinging Addis” and as an outlet for experimenting with new arrangements, configurations, and compositional techniques. In addition to their dedication to Ethiopian music, the other members of Debo Band are involved in a huge array of musical projects, ranging from free jazz and experimental rock music to chamber and orchestral music. Band members have composed full orchestral works, scored silent films and documentaries, recorded albums with homemade electronic instruments, and for fun, study folk music traditions from around the world, including Balkan folk music, Balinese Gamelan, and Brazilian percussion 

ensembles.

       

For the last several months, Debo Band has committed itself to spreading its music to audiences far and wide. In early 2009 Debo toured the U.S. East Coast taking their Ethiopian grooves to diverse venues in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. In each of these cities, Debo Band inspired all kinds of people to get up and dance, whether they had never seen iskista, the Ethiopian shoulder dance, or had been dancing it since childhood. 

       In May 2009, Debo traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to perform at the 8th Ethiopian Music Festival, an engagement supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. These performances affected Debo Band’s creative and professional development in significant ways, particularly in the collaboration they began with several traditional musicians – vocalist Selamnesh Zemene, dancer Zinash Tsegaye, drummer Asrat Ayalew, and washint (flute) player Yohannes Afewerk. All accomplished musicians in their own right, these musicians have collectively over fifty years of experience at prestigious venues ranging from the National Theater of Ethiopia to Fendika, a leading azmari bet, or traditional music house, in Addis Ababa. Working with these four musicians, Debo Band grows into a forceful, energetic, and authoritative thirteen-piece Ethiopian ensemble capable of delightful, one-of-a-kind performances. 

01. Debo Band - Akale Wube (5:01)
02. Debo Band - Ney Ney Weleba (5:30)
03. Debo Band - Not Just a Song (6:06)
04. Debo Band - Yefeker Wegagene (5:30)
05. Debo Band - Asha Gedawo (5:13)
06. Debo Band - Tenesh Kelbe Lay (5:15)
07. Debo Band - And Lay (4:53)
08. Debo Band - Medinanna Zelesegna (4:11)
09. Debo Band - Habesha (6:51)
10. Debo Band - Ambassel (7:06)
11. Debo Band - DC Flower (3:22)

Either/Orchestra - More beautiful than death [2000] [usa]

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.

Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ale Gena - Ethiopia [2011]

       It is an almost vehement strong voice that shakes the listener from the outset, Korahu ( Proud ), one also entered the international scene of the young Selamnesh Zemene with this second album of Breton septet. Fascinated by the sound of horns and electric guitars Addis Ababa 1960s and mid -70 , with its international tours with the two biggest stars of swing Abyssinian , Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté, the Badume 's Band puts his sax , clarinet , guitar, bass, drums and Hammond organ service resounding song Selamnesh, new revelation of the Ethiopian capital.

       Selamnesh descended from a line of azmaris, griots, nomads of the region of Gondar, the former capital of Ethiopia, known for its cultural and artistic influence. A past that inspired the singer to his choice of themes, often its ancestral musical modes to the example of this rhythm Wedding Dance fever makes the first track. A festive fervor found in Ketew Abew (where it is beautiful) , an ode to the origins of ululating, a copper piece to perfection with a guitar that turns. Sometimes the dance groove of Ethio - jazz Badume 's Band,  supports voice that pierces surprisingly that such divas du Sahel , as evidenced by this blues rock dominated by brass Sentun Ayehu Banjte meaning with you I have seen all the colors ( sic) .

       Much of the ten tracks ( ncluding two instrumentals, Antchi Bizu , way cool jazz, and Alemnesh, a gently catchy ballad ), are also blues, exhilarating as lamentos Ale Gena (there is) a song morello seasoned, music with jazz accents, a little funky . While Tezeta Duga Aggayú (memory), despite its rock guitar remains a sorrow song marked by ululating, like nagging complaint Sabiyé a composition of the famous singer and actress Asnaqètch Worqu , disappeared in September 2011, seventy-six years , inspiring Mahmoud Ahmed. 

      Moreover, Selamnesh takes another standard Abyssinian Heritage Mela Mela solution , the tube that was made known to the world Mahmoud Ahmed in the 1980s , traditional inspiration, such a sweet haunting trance, a collective prayer.

01. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Korahu (5:58)

02. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ale Gena (5:45)

03. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Tezeta Duga Aggayu (7:45)

04. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Ketew Abew (5:47)

05. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Mela mela (6:53)

06. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Antchi Bizu (3:30)

07. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Minjar (6:39)

08. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Sabiyé (6:16)

09. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Sentun Ayehli Bante (3:50)

10. Badume's Band & Selamnesh Zemene - Alemnesh (2:54)