v.a. - roots & discipline - wtnr radioshow ethio jazz [2010] [ethiopia]

ETHIO music non-stop 

(1:12:12   68 mb)

v.a. - Traditional music ensemble of the Ras-Theatre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [1982] [Melodiya, C80-17751-2]

Ras Theatre - Dedero

traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - yaniti (4:35)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - ethiopia adei (3:30)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - our country (3:57)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - dedero (3:29)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - yabishan bira (5:55)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - peace to the proletariat (2:48)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - belew belew (3:59)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - the militant communist (3:52)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - rebahel zemeslar (3:22)
traditional music ensemble of the ras theatre - tizita (3:41)

Shambel Belayneh - Gegna Kere [ethiopia]

Ethiopia - Shambel Belayneh

01 - Shambel Belayneh - Gegna Kere (6:46)
02 - Shambel Belayneh - Eta Banchi Megen (7:17)
03 - Shambel Belayneh - Arefa Tegen Leteta (5:35)
04 - Shambel Belayneh - Yastemaminal (4:18)
05 - Shambel Belayneh - Wedagera Legba (6:24)
06 - Shambel Belayneh - Belebesesew Kutash (6:39)
07 - Shambel Belayneh - Aberen Enichachas (6:33)
08 - Shambel Belayneh - Yalmeshal Ayena (5:08)
09 - Shambel Belayneh - Mewuhera (7:12)
10 - Shambel Belayneh - Nurelen Tilahun (5:18)

Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye & Selamawit G. Selassie - Wedding songs [1973] [ethiopia]

Amhara Wedding Songs - feat Lemma G. Hiwot, Selamawit G. Selassie and Zenebech Tesfaye

       Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973, this seemingly impossible to find LP is available once again to the lucky humans of the world. 

         With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take away to play over and over again when the festivities are over. With hand screened covers and an insert of wedding photos accompanying the liner notes, this is the next best thing to an invitation to the real thing. 

      Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973. A co-release with Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.

Singers: Lemma Gebre Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye & Selamawit Gebre Selassie

Washint & Kirar (Mederder): Melaku Gelaw

Piano: Getachew Degefu

Guitar: ‘Haile’

Bass: Tekle Tesfa-Ezghi

Drums & Percussion: Hussein Nuro

Arrangements: Getachew Degefu

Zenebech Tesfaye & Selamawit Gebre Selassie

Lemma Gebre Hiwot

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