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.
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.
A kebero is a double-headed, conical hand drum used in the traditional music of Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. A piece of animal hide is stretched over each end of the instrument, thus forming a membranophone. A large version of the kebero is also used in Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Christian liturgical music, while smaller versions are used in secular celebrations. The kebero is primarily used in weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. The instrument is made from the hollowed out section of a tree trunk and then hard particles are inserted into it. The shell is then covered with two cow leather membranes, so that one can be tuned higher than the other. A kebero is also used in a worship called wereb. It is mostly done in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Russ Gershon is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and founder of the Either/Orchestra in Massachusetts in 1985.
Abatte Barihun is an Israeli jazz saxophonist and composer. His sound is reminiscent of John Coltrane's, who has highly influenced Barihun.
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.
Tizita is one of the Pentatonic scales or Qañat of the Amhara ethnic group.
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.
Ethiopian liturgical chant, or Zema, is a form of Christian liturgical chant practiced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The related musical notation is known as melekket. The tradition began after the sixth century and is traditionally identified with Saint Yared. Through history, the Ethiopian liturgical chants have undergone an evolution similar to that of European liturgical chants.
Qañat or Qeñet are secular musical scales developed by the Amhara ethnic group of Ethiopia. Qañat consists in a set of intervals defining the mode of a musical piece or the tuning scale of the instrument playing the piece. There are four main qañat scales that are used, all of which are pentatonic: tizita (ትዝታ), bati (ባቲ), ambassel (ዐምባሰል), and anchihoye (አንቺሆዬ). Three additional modes are variations on the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor. Some songs take the name of their qañat, such as tizita, a song of reminiscence.
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.
Orthodox Tewahedo music refers to sacred music of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The music was long associated with Zema (chant), developed by the six century composer Yared. It is essential part of liturgical service in the Church and classified into fourteen anaphoras, with the normal use being the Twelve Apostles.
Ethiopian jazz, also referred to as Ethio-jazz, is a blend of traditional Ethiopian music with jazz, combining the pentatonic scale-based melodies of Amharic music with the 12-tone scale and instrumentation of western music. Over time the genre has grown to include elements from other genres such as afrofunk, soul, Armenian jazz, and Latin rhythms. The genre originated in the 1950s with Armenian refugees such as musician Nerses Nalbandian, who created a fusion of Ethiopian and Western music while working at the National Theatre. Ethiopian jazz was revolutionized by Mulatu Astatke in the late 1950s. Astatke is considered the father of Ethio-jazz music.
Theodros Mitiku, also known as Teddy Mitiku, was an Ethiopian musician and saxophonist who was the brother of renowned Ethiopian musician Teshome Mitiku, and a member of Souk Ekos Band, which was active in the 1960s. He had worked with numerous bands and artists in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Ibex Band, Menelik Band, Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse and Mulatu Astatke. He mostly worked with Ambassel Records, while AIT Records was a secondary record label.
2023 in music of Ethiopia 
