Ethio Jazz

Unlike many of his Ethio Jazz contemporaries, sax sorcerer Gétatchèw Mèkurya didn’t seek to hybridize western and Ethiopian sounds; rather, his music was deeply rooted in Ethiopian folklore and tradition, a characteristic he’d highlight by wearing traditional warrior attire onstage. He began playing traditional instruments like the masenqo and krar as a child, and later played with several government-sponsored orchestras in Addis Ababa. But it’s his unique idea of  transposing shellela warrior chants to his tenor saxophone that earned him a place in Ethiopia’s musical history. His vision first took shape on Negus of Ethiopian Sax, originally released in 1970: across the record, Mèkurya’s tenor saxophone bellows and shrieks over a bed of electric organ, bass, and drums, with enough expressive force to rouse the warrior spirits. 

Yekatit: Ethio Jazz is a compilation of tracks recorded by Mulatu Astatke and his band between 1969 and 1972, the years preceding the release of his seminal album Mulatu Of Ethiopia. Featuring Feqadu Amde Mesqel on tenor saxophone, Ethio Jazz captures Astatke’s first experimentations with combining Ethiopian melodies and scales with strong Latin rhythms,  70s funk and soulful grooves.  

Alemayehu Eshete is one of the greatest voices of Addis’ swinging sixties, and one of the funkiest, sometimes drawing comparisons with James Brown. But he’s no mere rip-off: this Heavenly Sweetness release shows just how effective he and his band were at combining Ethiopian sounds with Western soul and funk, bringing together Eshete’s powerful vocals and his band’s bristling guitar licks, tight jazz drumming, funky organ, and fiery horns to create an explosive sound that set Addis’ dancefloors alight.

In Ethiopia Tlahoun Gèssèssè was “The Voice,”  known for his soaring, impassioned tenor and his thinly veiled political messages. The tracks in this compilation were mostly recorded in the early 70s, when politically motivated restrictions were beginning to stifle Addis’ music scene. Despite the intense Ethiopian rhythms and fiery funk, a tinge of melancholy runs through his powerful voice. 

Asnaqètch Wèrqu’s life was marked by loss, poverty, and struggle from a very young age. After teaching herself how to play the krar, she began expressing herself through music, and you can hear some of that pain in her stirring, quietly powerful vocals. As a female azmari (a class of traditional ethiopian entertainers) she was still looked down upon, but she used her music to talk about her experiences, and advocate for her right to be accepted and respected.

Keyboardist and arranger Hailu Mergia formed the Walias Band in the early 70s, so their ascent coincided with the revolution that toppled Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and with the complex period that followed. Despite the restrictions imposed by the military Derg, the Walias made their name playing Arabic and western covers to international crowds at the upscale Hilton Hotel, but it was at their afterhours lock-ins that the band really let loose with their blend of funk and Ethiopian scales and melodies. In 1977 they released Tche Belew, their first album. Unusually for the time it’s a mostly instrumental affair, with the only vocal interjections being those of the great Aster Aweke, Getachew Kassa, and Tegest Abate.

All the tracks on Taitu are lifted from original 45s from Ernesto Chahoud’s record collection, giving the record a lovely earthy, warm feel to it. The compilation, curated by the Lebanese DJ and crate digger, includes typically Ethiopian horn driven melodies, soaring vocals, and  funky stompers by Ethiopian greats such as Mulatu Astatke and Alemayehu Eshete, but perhaps even more interesting are the tracks by lesser known artists. Listening to the soulful groove of “Ewnetegna Feker” by Hirut Bekele, Bezunesh Bekele swinging “Felagote” and the irresistible funk of Birkineh Wurga’s  “Alkedashim,” it’s easy to imagine the heady atmospheres of Swinging Addis, back when hotels like Ghion and Taitu were the city’s hottest spots.

It was 1978 and, following the ousting of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Sellassie four years earlier the military Derg was starting to suppress Addis’ vibrant music scene. Still, bands found ways to get around the imposed curfew by playing raucous gigs from dusk till dawn, even in some of Addis’ fanciest hotels. Hailu Mergia and his Walias band had been central to this scene, but for his second album (after the successful Tche Belew with the Walias) the keyboard player decided to enlist the renowned Dahlak Band instead, who played more soul and Amharic tunes as opposed to the Walias’ more western jazz and funk sets. On Wede Harer Guzo Mergia is more experimental with his arrangements; the mostly instrumental tracks unfold effortlessly, with slow, enveloping grooves and carefree and warm atmospheres. Atop of it all, Mergia’s keyboard glows. 

Debo Band’s 2016 sophomore album is big, bold, and packed with strong tunes, perfectly capturing the explosive energy of the band’s live performances. Tailor made for sweaty, shoulder to shoulder dancing, Ere Gobez updates the sounds of Ethiopia’s Golden Era with a good dose of jazz, funk, rock, and a touch of South American rhythm. Headed by saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by vocalist Bruck Tesfaye, the Boston-based band draw on various Ethiopian traditions and cultures: the high energy opener “Ele” is based on Gurage rhythms, while the sprawling “Oromo” is a reinterpretation of a traditional Oromo tune through a rock and jazz lens.

Mulatu Astatke is by all accounts the father of Ethio-Jazz, and Mulatu of Ethiopia is the album on which his signature style first came together. While his first albums consisted in pleasant but conventional Latin jazz, the 1972 Mulatu of Ethiopia (reissued in 2017 by Strut) is based on traditional Ethiopian harmonies and scales, but with western and Latin instruments (like the conga drums and trademark vibraphone) replacing traditional azmari ones. Astatke also organically blended different styles, with Blaxploitation-esque funk,  Afro Cuban rhythms,  eerie atmospheres, shrieking sax and the delicate washint flute combining to create a sound unlike any other, and one that has become the foundation of contemporary Ethiopian popular music

There is something about Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou’s music that is cozy and intimate, like you’re wrapped in a blanket,  listening to her play the piano in her living room. After her dreams of becoming a full time musician were dashed, Guèbrou became a nun and retreated from the world to a remote monastery, where she kept playing her delicate, dreamy compositions. Her music is influenced both by her western classical training and the modal chants of the Orthodox church she grew up in and sang in, and in its simplicity is able to stir the most primal of emotions.

Balkew Alemu started his musical career by competing in Ethiopian Idol in 1997 and 2004, when he made it to the finals. But far from being a gimmicky pop act, Alemu is blessed with a powerful voice that recalls that of Ethiopian greats like Mahmoud Ahmed. On 2022’s Yene Alemu producer Girum Mezmur harnesses Alemu’s timeless voice and works with  some of the best musicians in Addis’ contemporary music scene to create a record that is imbued with the spirit of Ethiopia’s Golden Age, but is also firmly of its time. 

Originally released by Kaifa Records in 1975, Erè Mèla Mèla launched Mahmoud Ahmed on the international stage when it was re-released by Crammed Discs in 1986, thanks mostly to its sinewy, dramatic title track. There is something about Ahmed’s voice that is so incredibly commanding it’s impossible not to be drawn in, whether it makes you dance or cry. Ahmed in fact is mostly known for his Tizita, the slow, melancholic Ethiopian style purposefully composed to elicit strong emotions. This stirring version of “Tizita” was recorded only shortly after the revolution, conveying a profound sense of loss and nostalgia.

Before Emperor Haile Selassie’s penchant for big brass bands made instruments such as the saxophone and electric keyboard ubiquitous, many Ethiopian bands played traditional instruments such as the kebero alongside those imported by the Italian colonizers. Much like what would happen with the sax years later, the mandolin and the accordion were adapted to Ethiopian scales and standards, and became an integral part of Ethiopian music in the 1950s and 60s. Addis Acoustic, led by multi-instrumentalist, producer, and stalwart of Addis’ live music scene Girum Mezmur, revisits this period of Ethiopian music but gives it a fresh twist by adding modern East African and Afro Cuban elements.

Although Girma Bèyènè  only recorded a handful of songs himself, he worked as a composer and arranger for some of the Ethiopia’s biggest golden era stars, and worked with the likes of Alemayehu Eshete and Walias Band, for whom he composed the enduring hit “Musiqawi silt.” Bèyènè was among those who left Ethiopia to escape the Communist regime, but after  25 years of silence, he returned to music with Mistakes On Purpose, a collaboration with French ethio jazz band Akalé Wubé. The album contains mostly reinterpretations of Bèyènè’s original compositions, with the band moving between soulful, bluesy, or funky arrangements, and for the first time it is Bèyènè’ himself singing, his age worn voice adding a feeling of intimacy and emotion to these timeless songs.