Music from the “Horn of Africa" will be among the sounds heard at the Jazz & Rib Fest next weekend.
The Either/Orchestra, specializing in the music of Ethiopia (with leader Russ Gershon at center, in striped shirt)
The Either/Orchestra, a 10-piece jazz band from Cambridge, Mass., which last performed in Columbus in 1991, will return with four musicians originally from Ethiopia. The band's guests will be Mulatu Astatke (vibes, keyboards), Setegn Atanaw (masinko, a one-string violin), Minale Dagnew (krar, a five-string lyre) and Hana Shenkute (vocals). The band will play on the Bicentennial Park Stage at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
“Most people hearing Ethiopian music blindfolded, so to speak, think that it's some sort of combination between African and Arabic music," said Russ Gershon, the orchestra's saxophonist and leader, in a recent interview. “When you think of Ethiopian music and have the Either/Orchestra play it, you have the African rhythms, the (Amharic-language) singing, jazzy horn solos and Latin grooves," Gershon said.
“Both Latin and jazz music come from Africa to begin with. So American musicians, we're heirs to African music. But on the other hand, Ethiopians have been very strongly influenced by American music, so it really mixes together very well."
Ethiopia's former emperor, Haile Selassie, was a fan of military bands, so horns and nightclubs were plentiful during his reign, Gershon said. The communist regime that followed tried to silence the music, but it has since made a comeback.
The Either/Orchestra, specializing in the music of Ethiopia (with leader Russ Gershon at center, in striped shirt)
The Either/Orchestra, a 10-piece jazz band from Cambridge, Mass., which last performed in Columbus in 1991, will return with four musicians originally from Ethiopia. The band's guests will be Mulatu Astatke (vibes, keyboards), Setegn Atanaw (masinko, a one-string violin), Minale Dagnew (krar, a five-string lyre) and Hana Shenkute (vocals). The band will play on the Bicentennial Park Stage at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
“Most people hearing Ethiopian music blindfolded, so to speak, think that it's some sort of combination between African and Arabic music," said Russ Gershon, the orchestra's saxophonist and leader, in a recent interview. “When you think of Ethiopian music and have the Either/Orchestra play it, you have the African rhythms, the (Amharic-language) singing, jazzy horn solos and Latin grooves," Gershon said.
“Both Latin and jazz music come from Africa to begin with. So American musicians, we're heirs to African music. But on the other hand, Ethiopians have been very strongly influenced by American music, so it really mixes together very well."
Ethiopia's former emperor, Haile Selassie, was a fan of military bands, so horns and nightclubs were plentiful during his reign, Gershon said. The communist regime that followed tried to silence the music, but it has since made a comeback.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
