Search - Various Artists :: The Very Best of Ethiopiques

Excellent overview of the 'Ethiopiques' series to date

Robert Greiveldinger | Milwaukee, WI, USA | 02/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2 hour, 2 cd set contains a broad overview of the first 20 releases in the 'Ethiopiques' series, containing a variety of artists from the releases thus far. There has been a lot of buzz about this series from well known musicians such as Elvis Costello and Michael Stipe of R.E.M., and this collection does not fail in living up to those accolades.



Briefly, the ongoing Ethiopiques series covers Ethiopian and Eritrean jazz from the 1960's and 70's; material that had been out of print and hard to find for years, and only recently has been made available on cd. This is not Swing or Bebop-era American jazz, but earthy, organic, original music from the Horn of Africa; mostly instrumental cuts, but with vocal tracks also included by some of the better-known artists of the genre. Combining both western and traditional African jazz instruments and stylings, most of the tracks lay down a mid-tempo beat with a buzzy bass, while the returning melodies always let you know that you are listening to African jazz, and not an American derivitive. Although jazz listeners may well get the most out of this collection, especially with repeated listenings, the music on these cds is easy to approach for any fan of music who listens with open ears. There is a lot of music here, and I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with this collection.



The Very Best of Ethiopiques is an excellent showcasce of the diversity of rhythms and melodies contained within the jazz world of the Horn of Africa, and you will not find anything like it anywhere else on the African continent. It is also the best place to start for those interested in diving into the Ethiopiques series of cds."

Oh my, what a find.

Moog | SFO - CA | 05/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like Jazz - carry on

If you like world music - carry on



If you don't mind listening to something off the beaten track and can stand interesting music - well this is gold.



I adore music and to find jazz, a standard upright bass and the a sax on top but doing runs you have never heard before, Arabic note sequences and strange hypnotic drums - put it all together and wow.....



I bought this as I have heard so much about this series, I bought it with a bunch of other CDs and I havn't bothered to listen to anything else for 2 weeks.



You have to like Jazz and world to get the kick out of this.

"