You’d expect a conversation with Mulatu Astatke to be about music. He is, after all, the father of a musical genre: Ethio-jazz. But when he talks about the art form, he tends to focus on its ...

TO WESTERN EARS, the music seems both foreign and familiar. Its mood stretches from sultry and haunting to upbeat and vibrant. Soulful Western undertones are audible, yet the overall impression is ...

In its first two years, D.C.-based record label 1432 R has stood out for its ethos and its ear, but also for a more curious reason. Even though 1432 R takes its name from a District street address, ...

What makes an artist great? The answer to this question might be tough but one thing is clear. An artist achieves greatens at least by creating something that has not been created before him and keeps ...

The 11-member Debo Band, led by saxophonist/ethnomusicologist Danny Mekonnen, has members from multiple continents, but its musical roots are deep in Ethiopian soil ...

A very rare jazz album from a legendary Ethiopian artist is now a lot easier to get a hold of. Hailu Mergia, who’s lived in the DC area for years, debuted “Tezeta” in 1975 with the Walias Band. The ...

When most Americans hear the word “Ethiopia,” the thoughts running through their heads probably are similar to the ones that run through mine: images of famine and war, mainly, and not a lot else.