My blog is on holidays today

It’s a holiday today and while I don’t always recognise these public events, I am today. So my blog is on holidays although I am actually just taking the chance to finish some projects off that have to be finished quick smart. But there is a music feature to listen to while wondering what I will write tomorrow (-:

Music – Nostalgia (Tezeta)

This is what I have been listening to while working this morning.

Here is the ‘father of Ethio-jazz’ – Mulatu Astatke – who is one of the great vibraphone players (not to mention his skills in conga drums, percussion and organ).

He is not a big name in Western jazz but to me, he has been a real pioneer and I love the sequence of his albums from early Latin elements (picked up while studying in the US) to his later work fusing pure African influences using Ethiopian instrumentation (such as the chordophone or Krar).

In that later case, the standard pentatonic scale (the Krar is tuned to it) was a perfect way to integrate more Western instruments into his style of jazz.

This song – Tezeta (Nostalgia) – is from the 1972 release – Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits (released Amha Records).

Amha Records – fled Ethiopia in 1975 after the military junta took over.

It was re-released on the 1998 volume – Éthiopiques 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974 – (Buda records), which featured the music of Mulatu Astatke.

This CD is still available.

Very mellow.

You can learn about the – Tizita – musical form in Ethiopia, which Westerners think of as blues music.

The form uses the – Qenet – pentatonic scale

Here is an interesting bio from 2018 – The father of Ethiopian jazz, Mulatu Astatke, remains a musician in motion.

That is enough for today!

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