Ethio Jazz & Groove

Emahoy playing her song Presentiment in her room in Kidane Mehret Church, Jerusalem, 2013.

Literal tears in my eyes. Her music either makes me feel calm to the center of my soul or unimaginably sad. No in between

God, I love Emahoy Tsege Mariam https://open.spotify.com/playlist/23LEXkUNa5HOF7NVgT9w5d?si=-70J0eblQlG8HH19GWCrGA&utm_source=copy-link&pi=BrByeFhHTYuF

Today our focus is Tesfamariam Kidane, one of the pioneering Eritrean saxophonists who left his mark on music in the sixties and early seventies, at the dawn of modern music in Asmara and Addis Ababa. Many of you will recognize his saxophone on the tracks "Yetesfa Tezeta" and "Heywete" Tesfamariam worked alongside many artists, including Mulatu Astatke and Girma Beyene, to name a few. In 2005 G.C. he released an album chronicling his life in music, entitled My Life in Music. Tesfamariam writes his own original compositions, and like a true jazz musician, he makes musical statements and narrates a story. He mixes it up with Eritrean folk songs, giving it more texture and depth. Enjoy the album.

For our first album listen of ሐምሌ , we will begin with Eritrean Jazz. A number of Eritrean artists were key contributors to the development of modern music in Ethiopia. Creative greats such as saxophonist/bass guitarist Fekadu Amdemeskel, lead guitarist Tekle Adhanom, lead guitarist/vocalist Tewolde Reda, composer Abubakar Asheikh (Kbur Zebegna Band), Saxophonist Tesfamariam Kidane, composer/teacher Shaleqa Girmay Hadgu (Kbur Zebegna Band), and vocalist drummer Tekle Tesfazghi. Later came the Roha Band, composed of Eritrean members and led by the creative guitarist Selam Seyoum.

For our first album listen of ሐምሌ , we will begin with Eritrean Jazz. A number of Eritrean artists were key contributors to the development of modern music in Ethiopia. Creative greats such as saxophonist/bass guitarist Fekadu Amdemeskel, lead guitarist Tekle Adhanom, lead guitarist/vocalist Tewolde Reda, composer Abubakar Asheikh (Kbur Zebegna Band), Saxophonist Tesfamariam Kidane, composer/teacher Shaleqa Girmay Hadgu (Kbur Zebegna Band), and vocalist drummer Tekle Tesfazghi. Later came the Roha Band, composed of Eritrean members and led by the creative guitarist Selam Seyoum.