In review--Serpentine Fire from Exotic Lands
World/Jazz
Mulatu Astatke
Sketches of Ethiopia
Jazz Village
When I first started listening to world music, I heard a few
Ethiopian jazz and sacred music recordings. Right away, I felt enticed by the
exotic modes, scales, and polyphonic rhythms.
The music of Ethiopia possesses a distinct sound even when it’s melded
to jazz, funk, and Latin music. And it’s
not the easiest music to describe either!
Pianist/Vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke gives listeners a music puzzle to
solve and I even looked up traditional Ethiopian instruments featured on the
recording (the Ethiopian flute, washint, traditional lyre, krar and the
1-string fiddle, masinco). While the
wildly delicious Sketches of Ethiopia
falls into exoticism, any listener of world music will recognize echoes of
Nigerian funk, American soul, Cuban beats and Ethiopian jazz because it’s all
here and then some.
The opener, Azmari
warms up the ears with polyphonic beats, exotic modes, and a serpentine melody
that snakes its way into a dancer’s hips.
On the following track, Gamo,
featuring Tesfaye on vocals, Ethiopian jazz meets Nigerian funk. The vibraphone, krar (lyre) and flute solos
on Hager Fiker wed to an infectious polyphonic
beat groove that causes feet to itch with dance fever. Expect to hear some Cuban beats and flute too
on this track. Gumuz stands out as a
favorite and the best way to describe this song is Ethiopian Marvin Gaye
revisited. The rousing closer, Surma raises the heart rate while
featuring the rousing vocals of Fatoumata Diawara.
Based in London, Astatke
leads his Step Ahead Band into new terrain.
He might not be famous in the West yet, but Sketches of Ethiopia will certainly turn heads in his
direction. Some listeners might already
know of his music that appeared in the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers. Anyone hungry for a new
sound can satisfy their hunger with this cultural gem.
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