2) Performers: Abraham Gebremedhin and Accompanying Ensemble
3) Origin: Ethiopia
4) Orchestration: Male vocals, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bass, Percussion, Electronic Synthesizer, Trumpet, Trombone
5) While in the culture of Ethiopian traditional music, this piece in particular tends to lean a little more to the American genre of Jazz. The timbre, style, syncopation and overall quality leans in the direction of western culture than that of Ethiopia. The male vocals are not in english, however the melody, harmonies and rhythms provide a very common and comfortable feel. In terms of socialization, this piece gravitates toward the success and popularity of western cultures. I feel that the performer, Gebremedhin, is a fan of American Jazz and finds the music to be comforting and successful in Ethiopia. He has brought a culture that would typically not value Jazz style and syncopation, a better understanding of what music can sound like when given its own identity. While we have had the discussion of authenticity, do you think that authenticity should stand in the way of socialization? Visa Versa?
When you think about authenticity of musical creation, you may need to find out more about the artist and how they create their music. If the musician truly admires American forms of music and wants to combine it with elements of their music, we should consider the new music as a tribute to our musical styles. If Gebremdhin is a fan of jazz and add its style to the melodies and rhythms he knows, than we should give him the right to do so. However, if he is just using jazz in his music because he knows it will make more money, then we can choose to not support this music and point that out to our students. I personally like the unique blend of jazz and the African musical elements created in this song. As we are exposed to more musical styles in a smaller world, we should support authenticity while allowing for new blends of music to happen.
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