Francis Falceto is a contemporary French musicologist and music producer, specialising in World music and in particular music of Ethiopia which he helped propagate internationally from 1986 onwards. [1] [2]
Francis Falceto programmed different world music at the Confort Moderne of Poitiers when in 1984 he discovered a Mahmoud Ahmed LP record, via Bernard Gallodé. In 1985, he decided to undertake a trip to Ethiopia (via Moscow because of the Derg regime) in order to meet Mahmoud Ahmed, [2] then in 1986 again to reissue Mahmoud'sEthio-jazz album Erè Mèla Mèla (1975) on the Brussels-based Crammed Discs label. [3] After the success of the record in Europe and in the United States, he decided in 1996 to create the Éthiopiques series with publisher Buda Musique in order to reissue Ethiopian music of the period 1950–1975, most of them produced by Amha Eshèté for the label Amha Records and Ali Abdella Kaifa for Kaifa Records [4] [1] [5] of which he acquired the full rights, which was not without creating tensions with certain artists, including Mulatu Astatke (The king of sax shining on the world stage in Ethiopian Reporter 28 January 2012 [6] ). After the important international success of the series, [2] he also conducted numerous lectures on the subject.
Francis Falceto also proposed Lili Boniche to realize a return on stage in the early 1990s and became his impresario. [7]
Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin, however, often it is applied to a genre, a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes.
Tilahun Gessesse was an Ethiopian singer regarded as one of the most popular Ethiopian artist of the 20th century. Noted by his tenor voice, he was nicknamed "The Voice" during his country's "Golden Age" in the 1960s. Tilahun was an eminent singer whose works are attributed legacy to Ethiopian music. Besides his popularity, he raised money for aid during the famines of the 1970s and 1980s and earned the affection of the nation, being awarded a doctorate degree by the Addis Ababa University and also winning a lifetime achievement award from the Ethiopian Fine Art and Mass Media Prize Trust.
Amha Records was an Ethiopian record label founded by Amha Eshete. The company released 103 singles and 12 albums between 1969 and 1975.
Éthiopiques is a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian singers and musicians. Many of the CDs compile songs from various singles and albums that Amha Records, Kaifa Records and Philips-Ethiopia released during the 1960s and 1970s in Ethiopia. Prominent singers and musicians from this era appearing on Éthiopiques releases include Alemayehu Eshete, Asnaketch Worku, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke and Tilahun Gessesse. However, some other releases contain new recordings.
Kaifa Records was an Ethiopian record label. It released 53 records between 1973 and 1977. Ali Abdella Kaifa, better known as Ali Tango, managed the company.
The culture of Ethiopia is diverse and generally structured along ethnolinguistic lines. The country's Oromo-speaking majority adhere to an amalgamation of traditions that were developed independently and through interaction with neighboring and far away civilizations, including other parts of Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, and other parts in East Africa. By contrast, the nation's Nilotic communities and other ethnolinguistic minorities tend to practice customs more closely linked with South Sudan and/or the African Great Lakes region.
Mulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger considered as the father of "Ethio-jazz".
Mahmoud Ahmed is an Ethiopian singer. He gained great popularity in Ethiopia in the 1970s and among the Ethiopian diaspora in the 1980s, before rising to international fame with African music fans in Europe and the Americas.
Alemayehu Eshete Andarge was an Ethiopian singer. He had performed since the 1960s and primarily in Amharic. He had been nicknamed "the Ethiopian Elvis".
Kebur Zabagna or Zebenya was the Ethiopian imperial guard. Also known as the First Division, this unit served the dual purposes of providing security for the Emperor of Ethiopia, and being an elite infantry division. It was not, however, part of the organizational structure of the Ethiopian regular army as it was part of the Zebagna, the Addis Ababa Guard. The Kebur Zabagna was based at Addis Ababa.
Russ Gershon is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and founder of the Either/Orchestra in Massachusetts in 1985.
The Either/Orchestra (E/O) is a jazz group formed by Russ Gershon in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, in 1985. E/O is configured as a "small big band", with three saxes, two trumpets and one or two trombones. E/O's is characterized by a heavier and more orchestrated sound than that of a smaller jazz combo, but remains more streamlined and improvisation-oriented than most big bands.
Getatchew Mekurya was an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist.
Buda Musique is a French record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1987 by Gilles Fruchaux and Dominique Buscall. After Buscall died in 1990, Fruchaux became the sole owner. The label is especially known for its Éthiopiques series.
Girma Bèyènè, born in Addis Ababa, is an Ethiopian lyricist, composer, arranger, vocalist, and pianist, most active during the golden era of Ethiopian vinyl records (1969–78). He only recorded four songs as a vocalist, but arranged more than 60 titles, and collaborated on at least 25 other tracks. Girma left Ethiopia during the Derg military dictatorship to live in the United States, where he disappeared into the diaspora and ceased to play music. He released a new album in 2017, part of the Ethiopiques collection.
Walias Band were an Ethiopian jazz and funk band active from the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Formed by members of the Venus Band, Walias backed up many prominent singers with a hard polyrhythmic funk sound influenced by western artists like King Curtis, Junior Walker and Maceo Parker. In 1977 they recorded one of the few albums of Ethiopian instrumental music in collaboration with vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke, whose role as a bandleader and composer was also a major influence on Ethiopian popular music.
Selam Seyoum Woldemariam, also known as Selamino, is an Ethiopian-born Eritrean musician and guitarist. He has turned out 250 albums in his more than forty years as a professional musician. He has been called "The Jimi Hendrix of Ethiopia" and is a national legend.
Maurice El Mediouni, French El Médioni is an Algerian-Jewish pianist, composer and interpreter of Andalusian, rai, Sephardic and Arab music. He is one of the few living artists to have performed with artists such as Lili Labassi, Line Monty, Lili Boniche, Samy el Maghribi, and Reinette l’Oranaise. He is also a professional tailor and took up initially music as a hobby.
Debo Band are a Boston-based Ethiopian music band led by saxophonist Danny Mekonnen and fronted by vocalist Bruck Tesfaye. Ranging from 10–12 members playing horns, guitars, violins, percussion, and accordion, their sound incorporates Ethiojazz, folk, and pop styles from the Horn of Africa infused with tinges of motifs from Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as punk, experimental, and psychedelic rock. Rolling Stone described Debo's sound as, "guitar solos, massed vocals, violin and brass [that] rush in like a Red Bulled marching band...Dance at your own risk."
The Ethiopian Golden Age of Music was an era of Ethiopian music that began around the 1960s to 1970s, until the Derg regime progressively diminished its presence through politically motivated persecutions and retributions against musicians and companies, which left many to self-imposed exile to North America and Europe. Several artists and musical companies, as well as recording groups, emerged to produce their own singles and albums; the first being Amha Records, and Philips Records, Ethiopia Records and Kaifa Records, which is primarily based in Addis Ababa.
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