|
l
Newsletter 17
Autumn 2006 update
In October we release a new cd: Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Guests... 11 songs of the 73-year old Ethiopian saxophone legend in new arrrangements, as we played them live earlier this year. Out on our sub-label Terp Records this time, and it's called Moa Anbessa. (cat.no. Terp AS-11)
Getatchew Mekuria is the most revered veteran of the Ethiopian saxophone. He is a real giant, both physically and musically. In his seventies, he is still in full voice, with his own, powerfully distinctive style of playing. His huge vibrato, both forceful and fragile, plays around the vocal lines, using typical Ethiopian embellishments. He started playing in 1947 in the Addis Abeba Municipal Band, then in the Haile Selassie 1 Theatre Orchestra and the Police Orchestra. He also backed up all the famous Ethiopian singers. He is the inventor of a musical style called the Shellele, which originates from an heroic war-chant, translated to the saxophone. When he plays it, he dons a lion's mane and cuts loose with furious solos that are a kind of free jazz, from before free jazz existed.
The Ex toured Ethiopia twice and fell in love with its music. The Ex had their 25th year anniversary party in November 2004 and they invited Getatchew to perform there with the ICP, the Instant Composers Pool, for many decades Holland¹s most amazing free-improvising jazz group, based around Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink. It was his first time traveling outside of Ethiopia but he accepted the ICP as if they were his own band, donned his lion's mane, and blasted everyone off stage. Getatchew and the ICP played at the Paradiso, the Bozar in Brussels and later at the Moers Jazz Festival; and on the 25 year Ex Convoy Tour around France, he played with The Ex.
He was so inspired that he suggested to The Ex he should record his next CD with them. He gave them 10 solo saxophone versions of Ethiopian tunes, which they arranged and practiced. Then in April 2006 Getatchew traveled to the Netherlands for some concerts and recording sessions.
The result is unique; Getatchew's melodies and solos mesh with The Ex's rhythms, noise and vocals, supported by a guest horn section (Joost Buis-trombone, Xavier Charles-clarinet, Brodie West-saxophone) and colin Mclean on bass-guitar, like they were made for each other! So here we have another chapter in the story of The Ex, and a new release for Terp.
Six tracks were recorded in April 2006 at Jottem, Wormerveer, Netherlands, by Jeroen 'Ato Asa' Visser and Dolf Planteijdt. the remaining five tracks were recorded live in the Grand Mix, Tourcoing, France by Jeroen Visser who later on mixed and mastered everything at Fishing Bakery Labs in Zürich, Switzerland.
Shortcuts
On October 19, at 00:15 h. broadcast on ARTE, the new film by Stéphane jourdain, Jacques Goldstein, and Anaïs Prosaïc: THE JUNGLE BLUE SUITE... With live-music from a.o. The Ex & Getatchew Mekuria, Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed & Han Bennink, Mahmoud Ahmed, Alexandre Von Schlippenbach, Claude Tchamitchian, Iva Bittova. +++ Unfortunately, Brazil in October is off for the moment... Not enough time for them to organize everything as properly as necessary. Next try next year. +++ In late October/early November, together on tour: The Ex and the Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed Trio, in France, Italy and Austria! +++ Soon to be released on DVD: Jem Cohen's filming of 9 Ex-songs during the Knitting Factory concert in New York in September 2004. +++ Andy is composing music for the theatre-adaptation of Wim Wenders movie Hemel boven Berlijn/Wings Of Desire, a Dutch/American collaboration of Toneel Groep Amsterdam together with American Repertory Theatre from Boston. +++ In December 2006 hopefully another USA tour...Details to follow soonish. +++ In May 2007, The Ex and theatre-group d'Electrique travel through Holland for four more weeks with their Clockwork Orange performance. +++ Released in June: a book by journalist Fred de Vries called Club Risiko, a lookback at the eighties' underground...Interviews with people from Einstürzende Neubauten, Crass, Sonic Youth, Koos, Laibach, and the Ex, plus a search for the maker of the movie Pola X...It's written in Dutch, though (sorry!), but quite a good read really! (Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2006).
An email-version can be obtaine
|
