Customer Reviews

Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz (1969-1974)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first of the Ethiopiques series I bought and it still stands up, five years later, as my favorite. After losing my original copy last year I finally managed to borrow it from the Brooklyn Public Library.

When I listened to it (for the first time in 12 months) I was swept up once again just like every time I've listened to this disc. The melodies are beautiful, across the board. The musicianship is incredible. And there is a wistful, pentatonic sound that suffuses the whole album and, for me, encapsulates a certain kind of regretful feeling.

You will not be sorry to add this disc to your collection.

Listening to the three instrumentals on Ethiopiques 1, I was prepared for what I heard on this CD. The music here is exclusively traditional Ethiopian pentatonic melodies arranged in a new and creative style. Except for the wonderful Tizita, new names are given to the songs, which is misleading, since they are not original Astatke's compositions. I enjoy the quiter and slower arrangements, when you can hear the distinctive sound of the soloists. Where are all of these musicians today ? It seems that the Mangistu revolutions has done permanent damage to the music and the musicians, since Ethiopian music after 1975 has nothing of the creativeness heard here. Today I believe that Ethiopian musicians should look back to these recordings for inspirations and try to pick up where they were stopped. This is goldmine to those who look for ways to develop Ethiopian music while keeping close to the roots.

I was smitten when I heard a cut off this disk on a "left of the dial" radio station in Boston and immediately tracked down a copy. I was not disappointed. The entire album has a fantastic musicality to it that is hard to describe, tradition and the exotic combined gracefully and interestingly. My sole complaint is that the sound quality on a few of the cuts (late 60s, early 70s recordings) is a bit spotty, which induces a little ear fatigue - after about the third consecutive listening. But I consider that a quibble. I recommend very hightly.

This is powerful, mystical, ancient, ethereal, psychedelic stuff, wrapped in the raw familiar shapes of jazz, blues, funk, and pop. The horn melodies are dark and hypnotic, punctuated by guitar tones ranging from raw and distorted to reverb wah-wah, joined by electric piano, flute, and various percussion. I love most of the pieces, I think I realized around track #4 that this was special. And listen to track 5, the horns kick it off for the first 2 seconds, then they go away until a sax comes in at 1:22 and plays for awhile as the rhythm just pounds away in the background, finally the horns rip back in at 2:20 and keep at it until the end with a great repeating riff. The last track even approaches a sort of Stooges 'LA Blues'.

I also really love the Ethiopiques albums with Mahmoud Ahmed, I think they are #6 & 7 in the series.

The real charm of this music comes from the way it sounds, the way it was recorded. Raw and low-fi and brimming with soul, the needle pushing into the red. Dig it.

I bought this CD on a whim after it was recommended by Amazon, and I really like this album. Fans of Fela and other Afro Jazz / Afro Pop will probably like this one. The difference is that this is EAST African. While the music is primarily jazz and R&B, there are very clear local influences, which sound somewhat Middle Eastern to my uninitiated Western ears. It's unlike any other CD that I've ever heard, but it's familiar sounding enough to enjoy right away.

The sound quality is what it is! It's from Ethiopia more than 30 years ago! The sound quality is relatively primitive, but it's not something that should keep the open-minded listener from thoroughly enjoying this music. I could even argue that the sound gives it another unique touch.

My daunting challenge for me now is to determine which one of the other 19 volumes of this series to get next.

Having lived in Ethiopia for the better part of a year, it was great to find Ethiopiques 4. If they had played this on the Ethiopian buses I would have found transition to living there much easier. The music is definately influenced by the West, Miles Davis, James Brown, and Carlos Santana especially, however there are definate Ethio-quirks included. High pitched horns and beautiful Eastern melodies. Every now and then there is a guitar solo that would not be out of place on Iron Butterfly album. If you are looking for the doro wat of music then Ethiopiques if for you. I have also listened to Ethiopiques 3 and enjoyed the funk of that album as well. Not bad for music made by the cops and military

Mulatu Astatqe is so unique it is hard to classify his music really. It is at once straight ahead jazz, funk, and then uniquely Ethiopian. I like everyone I imagine was introduced to this music via Broken Flowers. I enjoyed the movie but was left with a burning desire to seek out this music. I am somewhat new to jazz but this really made me think of jazz in a whole new way. I highly suggest this album as a way to redefine your relationship to jazz, it is truly a unique art form that stands the test of time. Enjoy!

Ethiopiques 4 is a rarity, for sure. Mulatu played with some big-name American jazz guys in the '60's before moving back to Ethiopia. The songs on this compilation are all well-composed, which is important because the musicians are generally not-so-great. They are of the same quality as the musicians on a typical Fela Kuti album. Put a big-name American player like Lester Bowie in there (like on Fela Kuti's "No Agreement") and he sounds like he's from a different planet. The music on Ethiopiques has a slight rock fusion vibe, some passages sound Mid-Eastern, and it mostly has a good beat. So, it's good music, but Mulatu wasn't able to scrape up top-level players at that time. It's interesting that Mulatu's Ethiopian jazz was not well-received by Ethiopians because it was extremely non-traditional.

I got this CD after viewing Broken Flower, the movie. I loved the soundtrack and went to Amazon to find the CD. They helpfully showed me the Ethiopiques CD, and I liked their cuts on the movie soundtrack, so I thought I'd take a chance. Everyone I play it for wants to know more about them. I know very little, but love everything on this CD. I will definitly try more of their stuff. My daughter says, "this music makes me happy."

Soul and jazz get high in Addis Abbaba in the golden days of pre-revolutionary Ethiopian electric music. Booker T goes Amharic in this mind-bending instrumental groove from a lost age when Ethiopians gave their highlands a new meaning. Enter a world like no other.