Artist.......: Either/Orchestra
Album........: Live in Addis (Ethiopiques 20)
Label........: Buda Musique
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: 860121
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Mar-14-2006
str.date.....: Sep-13-2005
quality......: VBR/44.1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: http://either-orchestra.org/
track title time
cd1
01. Amiak abet abet 15:40
02. Muziqawi silt 08:01
03. Feqer aydelem wey 09:05
04. Altchalkoum 07:13
05. Yezemed yebada 08:07
06. Soul Tezeta 05:58
cd2
01. Eyeye 02:49
02. Antchim endelela 07:27
03. Keset eswa betcha 12:39
04. Bati (bass intro) 01:39
05. Bati 08:52
06. Shellela 07:42
Runtime 95:12 min
Size 145,3 MB
Release Notes:
HereÆs to the wonders of recorded music and
cultural exchange. Either/Orchestra leader Russ
GershonÆs encounter with the Blue Silver labelÆs
Ethiopian Groove album, a compilation of the
seminal, brass-packed Ethiopian jazz/pop of the
1970s, led him to arrange some of its pieces as
ôThe Ethiopian Suite.ö They were recorded by the
E/O for the 1999 album More Beautiful Than Death
and eventually were heard by some of the songsÆ
composers, as well as Buda Musique label curator
Francis Falceto.
That led to an invitation to play at the third
Ethiopian Music Festival in Addis Ababaùand the
band's astonishing performances are now available
to us on the monumental double-disc set Live in
Addis. To complete the circle, the albumÆs on
BudaÆs Ethiopiques seriesùthe same place where
Ethiopian Groove has appeared as a reissueùbut it's
the first time a western groupÆs interpretations of
Ethiopian music have appeared there.
The music was recorded in concert on January 21,
2004, and this remarkable version of the group
(pianist Greg Burk, drummer Harvey Wirht and
saxman/flutist Henry Cook have since left the band)
is captured perhaps at the very peak of its
collective powers. The recordingÆs not fancyùBurkÆs
pianoÆs not terribly well-servedùbut every
instrument is completely distinct, and the band
simply kills on polyrhythmic, grooving pieces like
Girma BeyΦneÆs Middle Eastern-sounding ôMuziqawi
Siltö and, for that matter, on NersΦs NalbandianÆs
percussion-free composition ôEyΦyΦö (the late
Nalbandian did the arrangement, too).
Ethiopian percussionist Mulatu AstatqΘ guests on
the second half of the concert, and it's hard to
believe that percussionist Vicente Lebron, drummer
Harvey B. Wirht, and AstatqΘ are doing all the
batterie themselves; it sounds like more than three
musicians are playing. (Various horn players add
assorted hand percussion before AstatqΘ joins the
ensemble.) Bassist Rick McLaughlin is perhaps the
most valuable player here, as evidenced by his
swinging, melodic line running through the
contrapuntal horns and piano of ôAntchim EndΦlΘlaö
(which also features co-writer/co-arranger Bahta
GΦbrΦ-Heywit on vocals).
Mind you, this is horn-driven music, and the E/O
horns dazzle throughoutùfrom the slow-building,
incrementally increasing massed ensembles that
begin the astonishing group arrangement of TΦshomΦ
SissayÆs ôAmlak AbΘt AbΘtö to GershonÆs keening
soprano threading through the other horns on the
Fender Rhodes-driven ôFeqer AydΦlem WΦy.ö
Trombonist Joel Yennior also plays some remarkable
solo parts on both ôYΦzΦmed YΦbadaö and the
aforementioned ôAntchim EndΦlΘla.ö
Several local guests besides GΦbrΦ-Heywit take the
stage for a song during the set, and the most
remarkable might be tenor player GΘtatchΦw MΦkurya,
whose blurred pitch and physical, soulful melisma
strongly recall Albert Ayler in particular, and the
tonalities of free jazz in generalùyet he arrived
at his style completely independently of Ayler.
(Ethiopiques 14, GΘtatchΦw MΦkurya: NΘgus of
Ethiopian Sax, is highly recommended.)
Ultimately, the Either/Orchestra is a band, not a
collection of soloists, and letÆs just say they
come across as neither jet-lagged nor
culture-shocked on these recordings. They sound
bracingly energized and just plain tight. Live in
Addis is the best live album of the yearùin any
genreùand one of the E/OÆs finest albums. Heartily
recommended.