Ethio-Jazz with a Taste of Tabla

This week in class we are focusing on Ethiopia and its so very many cultural wonders. Ethiopia has always demonstrated an extraordinary ability to absorb, or at least blend with, outside influences rather than allow them to subsume local culture. For example, jazz may have formed in the U.S. but musicians worldwide were quick to “get hip….” “Ethio-Jazz” is a shining example of how genres upon genres of music worldwide have developed in some interplay with jazz…and, of how Ethiopian music fully retains distinct character even as it intertwines with music from abroad. In this video we hear Ethiopian vocalist GiGi performing international fusion that finds a good deal of information in both South Asian music and Ethiopian Jazz.