One of our favorite compilations in this amazing series – a killer batch of 70s funk from Ethiopia! The instrumental grooves are very much in the style of the best American work at the time – like tracks by James Brown or Kool & The Gang – but the vocals have this amazing other-worldly feel that makes the music sound totally unique, and which pulls out some strange pitches in the instrumentation that really gives the whole thing a wild and edgey feel! The set's got 17 tracks in all – none of which you've probably heard before – and titles include "Tashamanaletch" and "Wededku Afqerkush" by Alemayehu Eshete, "Muziqawi Silt" by Wallias Band, "Gedawo" and "Gud Aderegetchegn" by Ayalew Mesafin, "Ya Djaleleto" and "Antchin Yagegnulet" by Tamrat Ferendji, and "Yemendjar Shega" by Muluqen Mellesse. CD

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An amazing return to form for the Ethiopiques series – wonderful cuts from that early 70s moment when Ethiopian music was really exploding with new ideas! If you've dug some of the other sets in the series – especially those by Mulatu, Tlahoun Gessesse, and Mahmoud Ahmed – you'll find plenty to love here – as the rhythms are exotic, the instrumentation unusual, and the sounds out of this world – really amazing stuff that breaks down any conventions you might expect – exactly that fresh spirit that's been taken up by so many younger artists in recent years. As with other volumes, notes are both in English and French, with lots of images too – and titles include "Wefe Yelala" by Damtew Ayele, "Gebre Guratch Gute" by Abbebe Tessemma, "Yakolele" by Gemetchu Itana, "Kasegnesh" by Tlahoun Gessesse, "Balendjere" by Abayneh Dedjene, "Yeborena Game" by Hayle Werque, and "Ayamaru Eshete" by Essatu Tessemma. CD

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Stunning stuff from the early 70s – one of the richest moments in the history of Ethiopian popular music! Haile Sellassie's reign was nearing its end, and the country was in the grip of a new renaissance of modernist ideas. To the rest of us, this means that the music scene was absorbing and mixing in a lot of strong influences from around the globe – and on this CD you'll hear funky rhythms, reggae bits, soulful vocals, and lots of other influences, all filtered through a strange sensibility that makes the results come out sounding amazingly otherworldly! There's 17 cuts on this first volume, and work is performed by Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulugen Mellesse, Getachew Kassa, Teshome Meteku, and Seyfu Yohannes. Also includes a few great instrumentals by lost artists! CD

One of the best volumes in this series – especially because it includes a number of tracks by the legendary Mulatu of Ethiopia! The overall feel is much more jazzy than the others, and there's even a few tracks that have a nice funky sound. 14 cuts in all – including "Yekermo Sew", "Kasalefkut Hulu", "Munaye", "Netsanet", "Dewel", "Tezetaye Antchi Lidj", and "Metche Dershe" – all by Mulatu! CD

One of the funkiest of the Ethopiques series! Like the best volumes in this series, this 8th one features some killer tunes with a hard soul approach – recorded in Ethiopia, but clearly influenced by the American funk of the late 60s and early 70s! The arrangements are mad mad mad – with plenty of incredible guitar work, tight bass-driven rhythms, and a screaming funk sound that makes the CD feel like a pile of funky 45s done in a language you can't understand! Includes work by Girma Beyene, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Lemma Demissew, and Samuel Belay. Essentially funky! CD

Another striking volume in the always-great Ethiopiques series – this one a recent concert, done in honor of, and in the style of, the music on the previous volumes! The set was recorded in Addis Ababa in 2001, and is filled with some really great rhythms, snakey grooves, and some ultra-cool sax work that really sets a great tone for the album. Most tracks have vocals, either by solo singers or ensembles – trading back and forth in a call/response style that also adds a lot to the evocative feel of the record. Titles include "Bati", "Segota 1", "Segota 2", "Koko", "Belomi Benna", "Medo Hane", and "Ambassel". CD

Mindblowing work from Mahmoud Ahmed – one of the key figures of Ethiopian music in the 70s, and a singer with a voice that's beyond compare! The sound here is extremely hard to describe – at one level grooving with some of the funk and jazz undercurrents of the work of Mulatu, but at another level done with a deeper sense of modernism that makes the tunes come across even more starkly. The album predates Ahmed's seminal Ere Mela Mela album – and on some tracks, is harder and funkier –with rhythms that pulsate in a really hypnotic way! Instrumentation includes some great hazy keyboards, as well as a brace of horns that emphasizes the themes of the tunes – and titles include "Gubelye", "Alemye", "Wogenie", "Etugula", "Belaya Belaya", "Ney Denun Tesesh", and the amazing Tezeta". CD

An amazingly great set from Either/Orchestra – easily their finest album ever, and a wicked batch of Ethiopian funk! The set's a very faithful homage to the best Ethiopian styles of the 70s – with lots of echoes of the generation of Mulatu, who also makes a guest appearance himself on the album! Bits of Afro Funk come into play with more complicated jazz – making for a really unique approach to the music that stays faithful to its roots, but also somehow extrapolates the best elements and pulls them even more strongly forward. Features percussion by Mulatu, tenor sax by Getachew Mekurya, and vocals by Bahta Gebre-Heywet, Michael Belayneh, and Tsendia Gebre-Marqos. 2CD set includes the tracks "Soul Tezeta", "Amlak Abet Abet", "Muziqawi Silt", "Yezemed Yebada", "Eyeye", "Embi Ba", "Shellela", "Bati", "Feger Aydelem Wey", and "Keset Eswa Betcha". Almost a tribute to the sound of the Ethiopiques series – played with some of its key stars from older years! CD

Really hypnotic sounds from Ethiopian singer Kassa Tessema – heard here on two records from the 70s, both of which have a very ancient feel! Kassa has this very deep sound in his voice – a range that really goes down right to the bottom, with less of the higher tones of other Ethiopian instrumentation or singers – and the backings for the records are very spare, often just a bit of krar or harp – used in simple melodic patterns, but which get very compelling as they cycle through in repetition. Some tracks are instrumental, and the booklet also offers translations of the most compelling lyrical passages – on titles that include "Woubye", "Tezeta", "Fanno", "Gelel", "Yemuziqa Moges","Satenaw", and "Antchi Hoy Lene". CD

Ella Fitzgerald in Budapest – but swinging just as hard as on any of her other records from the time! The set's a later issue of an unreleased live date recorded in 1970 – a set that captures Fitzgerald right at the height of her international fame, at a time when she could captivate just about any audience with her inherent charm and amazing vocals! Backings are by a trio that features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Frank De La Rosa on bass, and Ed Thigpen on bass – and titles are a hip mix of tunes that include a funky take on "Spinning Wheel", plus "Hello Young Lovers", "The Girl From Ipanema", "You Better Love Me", "As Time Goes By", "Crazy Rhythm", "People", "Mack The Knife", "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", and "Dancing In The Dark". CD

Keith Jarrett in our favorite side of his talents – playing the long, improvised style that first made him a breakthrough artist on ECM in the 70s – and which still remains one of his most important contributions to the history of jazz! Even later years, Jarrett's sense of imagination on the keys is amazing – and here, you'll hear very few echoes of other improvisations – long tracks that show that Keith is always able to create spontaneously, at a level that few others can match – especially as he never goes too far outside, or seems to lose a sense of melody in his music. The work is divided up into shorter passages – the older Jarrett sometimes needs a break on the keys, but never in his cognition – and as with other concert recordings of this type, the encores are older standards – "Answer Me My Love" and "It's A Lonesome Old Town" – but both given a very free, open Keith Jarrett approach! CD

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Christian Weidner on alto saxophone. CD

A pare of rare European sessions from saxophonist Marion Brown – back to back on a single set! First up is Gesprachsfetzen – a really wonderful collaboration between alto saxophonist Marion Brown and vibist/reedman Gunter Hampel – a set that's maybe one of the sharpest to come out of their work together! The music has maybe even sharper edges than some of Brown's previous records – a dose of some of the European modernism in which Hampel was steeping himself, but also with some more organic, spiritual qualities on the solos – not just Brown's, but the work of trumpeter Ambrose Jackson – who's pretty great here too. AACM legend Steve McCall is also in the group on drums and percussion, along with bassist Buschi Niebergall – and the set was recorded live, with titles that include "Gesprachsfetzen", "Exhibit A", "Babudah", "Tomorrow Is The Beginning Of The End Of Yesterday", and "Aba". In Sommerhausen is one of the key records that alto saxophonist Marion Brown made while working on the German scene at the end of the 60s – an incredibly fruitful period that seemed to unlock all this new energy in Brown's music in a mode that was similar to what happened when Don Cherry started making time on the European scene! Brown's key partner here is Gunter Hampel – who plays vibes, bass clarinet, and percussion – the latter of which is handled by the other members of the group too – a lineup that includes Ambrose Jackson on trumpet, Daniel Laloux on bass, and Steve McCall on drums – playing here before his better-known work with the AACM. Jeanne Lee brings some lovely vocalizations to the set – and titles include "Dance No 1", "Exhibit B", "Il Ne Chant Pas", "The Sound Of A Song", and "Malipieros Midnight Theater". CD

Featuring Theo Ceccaldi on violin and viola and Jim Hart on vibraphone. CD

Archie Shepp meets the Mihaly Dresch quartet for a set of originals by Dresch, plus a new take on Shepp's "Steam". CD

Music from Fairmont, Kayot, Jussi-Pekka, Darkmountaingroup, Ben Watt, Budai & Vic, Nino Astronauta, Madoka, Lephtee, Jimpster, and more. CD

With Istvan Grensco on reeds, Robert Benko on bass, and Szilveszter Miklos on drums and percussion. CD

Two of the more important pianists of recent years, performing here together in a set of live duets – most of which have a relatively improvised, relatively free approach – maybe even more than more familiar albums from either player! There's definitely a sense of ECM space in the recording, but that may well come from the album's recording in a larger hall at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest – which has both musicians' notes echoing out in open space nicely as they interact with each other. Titles include "Sensorium", "Kairos", "Shake Down", "Clear Monolith", "Luminous Brew", and "Life Line (Seven Tensions)". CD