More from the Tiger Orchestra

Over the past year, the funky Ethio jazz band Imperial Tiger Orchestra has quickly become one of my favorite new groups. This Switzerland band quickly caught my attention with last year's superb Addis-Abeba EP. Fresh off that critically acclaimed record, the group has just released their debut full-length titled Mercato. This solid new album begins where the last EP left us, with a heavy dose of Ethio jazz and funk that is in the same vein as some of music written by the genres greatest artists like Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed, and others. Some of my favorite tracks off this new album include "Yedao", "Anchi Bale Game", "Demamaye" and the uptempo groove gem "Lale Lale". Overall, Imperial Tiger Orchestra has followed up last year's ep with another brilliant release that helps pay homage to Ethio jazz's golden age.

Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Lale Lale

A Gathering of African Rhythms

It probably couldn't be anymore fitting that the day I start my new job working for SFJAZZ, would be the same day that one of my favorite jazz artists in Randy Weston will be performing here in San Francisco. Tonight at the San Francisco Yoshi's, the legendary jazz pianist will be putting on a solo performance as well as discussing both his new album The Storyteller and his recently released autobiography African Rhythms. Last summer when I saw him perform during the Stanford Jazz Festival, I was absolutely blown away not just by the incredible performance that both he and the African Rhythms trio put on that night, but also by the priceless insight into African culture and jazz music that he shared with the audience. As I continue to read through his autobiography, I continue to be fascinated by this musicians life that took him from hanging out with jazz giants like Thelonious Monk and Max Roach to moving to Africa, playing occasionally with Fela Kuti and opening up a night club in Morocco. I've always enjoyed how Weston has continued to bring both jazz and African music together, focusing on the music's traditional roots and culture. Tonight, I look forward to opening my mind and taking in all the invaluable wisdom that this jazz legend will certainly share.

Randy Weston's African Rhythms - The Gathering



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Astro Can Caravan

As you might imagine, I try to spend a major portion of my day seeking out music either through the internet or at record shops. It seems like lately I've been coming across a lot of great funky jazz records that I had personally never heard before. One of the more interesting records I recently came across is Astro Can Caravan's 2008 funky jazz twelve The Nagual Julian EP. The record features three superbly crafted tracks including "The Nagual Julian", "Athatoolagooloo", and "Cosmo Jones " that all have a consistently funky African and/or Ethio jazz feel to them. After hearing this record, I immediately became intrigued with the group and found that they are based out of Kuopio, Finland and will be actually releasing a new full-length album this month titled Planet Caravan. I must have completely missed them the first time around when they released The Nagual Julian EP. I guess as the saying goes, it's better late than never, especially when it comes to music. That being said, I now can look forward to catching them this time around as they prepare for their upcoming full-length release this month. Until then, I will be fully digesting their The Nagual Julian EP, which is certainly one of the best "newer" jazz twelves I've heard in quite sometime. Enjoy!

Astro Can Caravan - The Nagual Julian

African Jive

It's safe to say that I'm not a big fan of reissues, however they can at times serve a valuable purpose, especially if the original becomes so rare and expensive that only a few lucky collectors would even have the opportunity at owning and enjoying a record of such degree. For this reason, I was excited to see the recent reissue of Dick Khoza's funky 1976 South Africa jazz gem Chapita. This amazing record features classic Afro-jazz gems like "African Jive", "Zumbwe (Baby Tiger)", as well as the funky slow-groovin' title track "Chapita". The reissue also makes an appeal to those that might actually even own the original by including extensive liner notes and never-before-seen photographs that aren't present on the original release. The reissue was released by the new label Matsuli Music, who actually got ahold of the original master tapes and re-mastered them for this release. Overall, Matsuli Music did an amazing job of putting together a great reissue that upholds the integrity and sound of the original. Hopefully this will now open the door for new generations of listeners to enjoy the brilliance of Dick Khoza's masterpiece. Enjoy!

Dick Khoza - Zumbwe (Baby Tiger)

Timeless

On February 1, 2009, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke teamed up with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz scene to put on a rare concert, titled Timeless, at the Luckmann Theatre in Los Angeles. For those that couldn't make it to the sold out show, Mochilla Records has released a live record and DVD to commemorate the very special event. During the performance Astatke performed many of his classic tracks including Yekermo Sew, I Faram Gami, Yegelle Tezeta, and Kasaléfkut Hulu. Each track is backed by some incredible instrumentation from a solid cast of musicians and maintains a high level of energy throughout the entire performance, shedding new light on some of Astatke's most notable compositions. I find that live recordings can often fall short of capturing the same kind of energy that existed during the actual performance, Timeless however feeds off of the performance's energy and gives the listener a true taste of what turned out to be a legendary performance. Enjoy!

Mulatu Astatke - Kasaléfkut Hulu (Live Performance From Timeless)

Afro-Latin Soul Power

I'm very much in a laid back mood today, therefore I thought I would post Mulatu Astatke & His Ethiopian Quintet's Ethio-jazz gem "Soul Power". This funky classic was originally released on Astatke's 1966 album Afro-Latin Soul Vol. 2. For those who might not be familiar, Mulatu Astatke is as important to the history of Ethio-jazz as Fela Kuti is to Afrobeat, defining the genre from it's inception (Also See The Story of Ethio Jazz). On "Soul Power", we find another great example of Astatke's signature sound, blending together traditional Ethiopian music with Latin-jazz. Simply put, just another classic composition from one of the genre's most influential and legendary musicians. Enjoy!

Mulatu Astatke & His Ethiopian Quintet - Soul Power

Imperial Tiger Music

There has been a lot of great new releases coming out this spring. One of the records that I just purchased and am very excited about comes from a newer group called the Imperial Tiger Orchestra. This Switzerland based group just released their debut twelve-inch single Addis Abeba off of Mentalgroove Records. On this new record, the seven-piece Swedish band nicely blends together funky Ethio jazz alongside some heavy Afrobeat grooves. The record combines some live recordings of re-worked classics including Mulatu Astatke's "Emnete" and Mahmoud Ahmed's "Etu Gela", as well as a traditional Ethio jazz song in "Bati>" and a studio version of Muluqen Melesse's "Djemeregne". Overall, the record is a very solid debut as it produces a new modern take on some of Ethio jazz's most influential and traditional songs. As time goes on, I look forward to hearing more from this very talented group of musicians. Until then, I will be certainly enjoying Addis Abeba.

Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Emnete (Live @ Addis Abeba)

Mulatu Steps Ahead

One of last year's best releases was Strut's release of retrospective works by Ethio jazz legend Mulatu Astatke titled "New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975". I featured this amazing record in a post at the beginning of the new year (Read the Blog Post The Story of Ethio Jazz). Mulatu and the Strut label are back at it again in 2010, this time with the first solo record from the artist in over 20 years, titled Mulatu Steps Ahead. For the record, Mulatu did release a collaborative with The Heliocentrics as part of Strut's Inspiration Information series. On Mulatu Steps Ahead however, the father of Ethio jazz returns with a solid new effort that sounds like it could have been released around Mulatu's recording prime during the early to mid seventies. Mulatu combines some new songs like "Green Africa", "Radcliffe", "The Way To Nice", and "Assosa" with some new renditions of Mulatu classics including "Boogaloo" and "I Faram Gami I Faram". Overall, Mulatu Steps Ahead is a solid new record that I highly recommend checking out, especially if you have enjoyed the legendary artist's earlier releases from the late sixties and early to mid seventies. The only thing I can hope for now is a new batch of tour dates that take him to the west coast. Until then, I will be satisfied enjoying his new masterpiece.

Mulatu Astatke - Green Africa



Mulat Astatke's new album Mulatu Steps Ahead comes out March 30. Learn More about the record at www.mulatu-steps-ahead.com/.

The Story of Ethio Jazz

Strut's recent release of Mulatu Astatke's collection of retrospective works, titled New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975, can hardly be considered disco, however I feel the amazing album has a rightful place on this site. This greatest hits-like release sheds light on one of African music's greatest artist. Astatke is pretty much the pioneer of Ethio jazz, which I find is very funky, with a blend of traditional Ethiopian melodies mixed nicely with the free-form improvisational elements of Western jazz. An interesting and fascinating fact about Astatke is he became the first African student to attend Harvard, which during time he also lived and recorded in New York. When I first picked up this record I really wasn't that familiar with Asatke or Ethio jazz. However, after just one listen, I was pretty much blown away and knew that this album would amount out to be one of the best releases of 2009. I couldn't also help to hear all the potential sampling material this record and Astatke's music, in general, could provide for some future amazing disco cuts. Overall, I continue to enjoy this record more and more, with each and every listen. For those maybe a bit on the fence, I highly recommend snatching up a copy while they still last.

Mulatu Astatke - I Faram Gami I Faram