Hear a few tunes that come from “Golden Age” of Ethiopian pop but also music with the lingering echo of this music’s widespread effect on the world. Listen to musicians from Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Israel and America playing music that grows out of this style – also known as Ethiojazz or Ethiogroove.
Hear music by the “father of Ethio-jazz,” the living legend Mulatu Astatke, which was featured in the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers. Then, listen to Ethio-jazz by Mahmoud Ahmed, from the Ethiopiques series, which documents the unlikely, but remarkable combination of James Brown funk, 60s psychedelia, Indonesian scales, Hindi film scores, and European marching bands that formed the sounds of "Swinging Addis" in the early 1970s. Also, from that series of records, listen to the Massachusetts-based brass band, Either/Orchestra, doing an arrangements of a classic 1970’s Ethiopian pop tune, featuring the singer Bahta Gèbrè-Heywèt, recorded live in the capital city of Addis Ababa.
Listen also to big band music inspired by Ethiopian jazz by French saxophonist Pierrick Pédron and his ensemble. Then there’s music from the Boston-based Debo Band, which looks to Ethopia by way of Japan in “Hiyamikachi Bushi” from their record, “Ere Gobez.” The tune is an Okinawan song composed in 1948, yet still has the winding melodies, and loping rhythms (in threes) that echoes that of Ethiojazz. There’s also music by Ethiopia-born, Amsterdam-based Minyeshu which kinda sounds as though Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” meets Ethiopop in the best way. Plus, hear Ethiopian-style, horn-heavy funk from New York-based 7-piece band Anbessa Orchestra, which also echoes the Golden Age of Ethiopop/Ethiojazz.
PROGRAM #4115: Ethio-echoes (First aired 5/17/2018)
ARTIST: Mulatu Astatke
WORK: Yekermo Sew - A Man Of Experience [4:16]
RECORDING: Ethiopiques 4
SOURCE: Buda Musique
INFO: budamusique.com
ARTIST: Debo Band
WORK: Hiyamikachi Bushi [4:29]
RECORDING: Ere Gobez
SOURCE: For Practically Everyone FPE Records 013
INFO: deboband.com
ARTIST: Pierrick Pedron
WORK: Ethiop [4:12]
RECORDING: And the
SOURCE: Jazz Village 570097
INFO: jazzvillage.com
ARTIST: Anbessa Orchestra
WORK: Gize [6:17]
RECORDING: Negestat
SOURCE/INFO: anbessaorchestra.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Mahmoud Ahmed
WORK: Bemen Sebeb Letlash [4:39]
RECORDING: Ethiopiques 7: Mahmoud Ahmed - Ere Mela Mela
SOURCE: Buda Musique #82980
INFO: budamusique.com
ARTIST: Invisible System ft. Mahmoud Ahmed
WORK: Maljam Kehnoelish (If This Is What You Want) [4:06]
RECORDING: Introducing Invisible System
SOURCE: World Music Network INTRO119
INFO: worldmusic.net
ARTIST: Minyeshu
WORK: Zare [4:30]
RECORDING: Black Ink
SOURCE: Westdrum Records
INFO: minyeshu.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Either/Orchestra w/Bahta Gebre Heywet
WORK: Antchim endelela [7:28]
RECORDING: Orchestra / Live in Addis (disc 2)
SOURCE: Buda Musique 860121
INFO: budamusique.com
ARTIST: Black Flower
WORK: Realm And Era [6:44]
RECORDING: Artifacts
SOURCE/INFO: blackflower1.bandcamp.com