FEATURED ARTISTS
Russ Gershon, bandleader, tenor & soprano sax/Tom Halter, trumpet/Colin Fisher, trumpet/Joel Yennior, trombone/Jeremy Udden, alto sax, flute/Henry Cook, baritone sax, flute/Gregory Burk, piano, keyboard/Rick McLaughlin, bass/Harvey Wirht, drums/Vicente Lebron, congas, percussion

GUEST ARTISTS
Mulatu Astatke, vibraphone, timbales, percussion/Michael Belayneh, vocals/Bahta G. Hewot, vocals/Tsedenia G. Markos, vocals/Getachew Mekurya, tenor sax

The 20th in the critically acclaimed Ethiopiques series, Live in Addis Ababa takes Ethiopques – and Ethio-jazz – to a new place. The Either/Orchestra, a 10-piece jazz orchestra based in Boston, are among the first non-Ethiopian artists to become serious interpreters of Ethiopian music over the last eight years. Recorded live at a historic concert – the first performance by a U.S. big band in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington in 1973. The results blend state-of-the-art playing and an exotic, captivating Ethiopian program into a kind of Buena Vista Social Club Addis-style, featuring several Ethiopian elder statesmen performing with a big band for the first time since the 1960s, and two younger singers doing so for the first time. Inspired by the great Ethiopian pop and jazz of the ‘60s and ‘70s, the E/O has brought the full array of modern jazz and Afro-Cuban innovations to an Ethiopian repertoire. The E/O’s previous release, Neo-Modernism, went to #2 in the CMJ Jazz Chart; all of its releases have made the Top Ten.

“I have seen the future of big band music, and it is this 10-piece from Boston.” – Chicago Tribune

“This amazing ensemble does just about everything right.” – Village Voice