Reggae star to fly high

Rising Ethiopian reggae star Jah Lude will perform at Addis Ababa’s Lafto mall next week, July 7. It will be his first show since he released his first album months ago that garnered him a wide appeal. Bringing a cosmopolitan, reggae approach to his Ethiopian musical roots, the 36-year-old Addis Ababa-born singer has won praise from various quarters. He has a unique way of articulating Amharic in an Oromo accent that sometimes finds him singing about peace, love, struggle, identity, healing and reconciliation.

Jazz in the garden

This last weekend music lovers in Addis converged for the 2nd annual installment of the acacia jazz fest for two days of jazz appreciation. True to its promise, the fest offered the best fusions of jazz elements and contemporary music from established and exciting new talents. With Nubian Ark, the group that fuses Ethiopian music scale and rhythms with jazz and funk, the touring band Der Rote Bereich described as the most important representative of German avant-garde jazz, Jazzmaris, a local band that combines the swinging Addis era music with its own original compositions, the Ethio-Cuban band “Eshi Havana” which brought its sumptuous Caribbean flavors to the festival, this was sure a weekend to remember.

Addis to get in the rhythm with jazz fest

About five thousand people are expected to attend a series of concerts in Addis in this year’s Acacia Jazz Festival that runs across a weekend on 26-27 March. Live music performances will be held at the Floral Tropical Garden, located in Bole area, according to Benyam Zewde, one of the organizers of the event.Festival organizers promise to delight and thrill both local audiences and visitors by integrating hot jazz with the Ethiopian folk music as well as flavors from around the world.

Italian soprano in Addis

There was an important musical happening in Addis this past week- an operatic soprano performance by musicians from Italy.
A soprano soloist Enrica Mari made her Addis debut at the National Theatre on Wednesday evening, June 3, in an event organized to mark the Italian National Day.
A chance to hear musical interpretations of Europeans opera masters such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti don’t happen often yet the evening was one of those grand exceptions.
With the meteoric appearance of Encrica Mari, Ethiopian audiences were able to hear what these extraordinary sopranos had sounded like.
Mari’s performance combined recitals in number of languages-Italian, English and French and music by diverse musicians such as the arias of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and jazz-derived melodic of the American George Gershwin.

Ethiopian Music Festival: in pictures

A variety of choral music was given by the Lyce Guebre Mariam School Choir presented on Saturday May 23. The performance featured the students singing some well known Amharic music altered to French lyrics as tributes for Ethiopia’s great singers.

Reggae show at festival

Reggae may be about compelling rhythms and soulful melodies but also about a message and ideology. Last night’s Anbessa band performance at Alliance Ethio-Francise was a proof to the dictum. The band added its Caribbean spice of good vibrations and political commentary to the festival in its final day.
Anbessa, meaning a lion in Amharic, was formed a year ago on June 11 when the Alliance sponsored the band members to perform in Djibouti in connection with the World Music Day for one week, a performance that impressed the audience and organizers. The new group has been getting more enthusiastic audiences at various clubs in Addis and Shashemene where they have concentrated on adding new songs whenever they could. The artistic director of the festival, Francis Falceto made it a point to include the band in this years’ festival.

Aster and Gosaye set for Easter gig

Addis is awaiting a big musical event.

The big news is that Aster Aweke and Gosaye Tesfaye will perform on April 25, a week after Easter in Addis’s Millennium Hall.

The 49-year-old queen of soul is teaming up with the upcoming 34 year-old R& B kind of singer for an eagerly awaited show, which reportedly cost organizers more than one million birr. Organizers say the two would perform with a band of the highest caliber, a state-of-art stage show and surprise supports acts.

While Aster is expected to start rehearsing after her return from Harvard, Gosaye has already started with the Zion’s band for the upcoming concert.

Abeagazu K. Shiota and other well-known names are expected to accompany Aster.

Tickets will be on sale in week’s time, ranging from 200 Birr to 500 Birr.

Aster who has lived for a number of years in the US has now made Ethiopia her permanent home and even will be moving to her newly built villa in Ayat shortly.

Concert to honor Marley

A concert to mark the 64^th anniversary of the birth of the late Jamaican reggae star, Bob Marley will be held in Shashemane town on 7 February.

Speaking over the phone, Sydney Salmon, one of the organizers and performers at the event, told Addis Journal that the concert will commemorate the life and ideals of Marley, who died from cancer at the age of 36.

Ethiopian vocal singer Niway Debebe will be performing at the event along with the Lion of Shashemene, Sydney Salmon and the Imperial Majestic Band, K.Alyn, Teddy Dan and Small Axe.