The Whole Music Experience

  Addis Acoustic Project Tewesta (Remembrance) World Village Besides my familiarity with an acoustic homage to Ethiopia performed by Gigi and a Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia , I find myself at a loss in describing Ethiopian music.  The music shares some commonalities with Egyptian music, but possesses an exoticism of its own.  I only wish that I had more time to spend on writing a review of Addis Acoustic Project’s Tewesta because the disc provides lively Ethiopian fare flavored with accordion, acoustic guitar, double bass, percussion, and clarinet for starters.  The music here swirls in this space and often swivels its way through exotic scales. It also provides a nostalgic feel to a bygone era. The second track, Ambassel (Ethiopian folk song), fuses Latin American music with East African jazz and Dawit Ferew’s clarinet alternates between Turkish traditional and klezmer-esque modes, though I’m certain that it is neither.  The ensemble of musicians lead by Gir