Global A Go-Go presents:
Mahmoud Ahmed, the Johnny Carson of Ethiopia and George Lowe
For 30 years, George Lowe has been a fan of (some might say “obsessed with”) Ethiopia’s Golden Age of Music: the 1960s and 70s, the last years of the Haile Selassie monarchy and the time when “Ethio-jazz” was invented. George’s band, the Afro-Zen Allstars, feature a large number of his arrangements of Ethio-jazz classics, and the band has been recognized as among the foremost interpreters of this style of music in the USA.
The audience for Ethio-jazz in America is admittedly a niche market, but in Ethiopia it’s a little different story. And all of a sudden last week, George and Afro-Zen became household names in Ethiopia. The photo above is a screenshot from the Zoom interview George did with Seifu Fantahun, who hosts the most popular show on Ethiopian broadcast TV. That episode has been viewed over 350,000 time on YouTube, which is certainly not the main way the show is watched.
How did this happen? When George explained it all to me, my comment was “This whole story reads like the plot summary of a particularly implausible movie.” I’m not going to give you any spoilers here — I’ve invited George to join me this week on Global A Go-Go so you can hear the whole story direct from the horse’s mouth. And we’ll play some of the music in question, by Afro-Zen and by the original artists, as well.
Also this week (Sunday December 1, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): Songhoy Blues and the music of Mali’s Songhai people, The Bongo Hop’s Afro-Latin groove and new samba-funk from João Selva.
Podcast: radio4all.net/program/119194
All the podcasts: radio4all.net/series/Global%20A%20Go-Go
Show Archive
Play show / Add show to playlistPlaylist:
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Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, “Global a Go-Go”
from Global a Go-Go
BMG Rights Management (US) LLC - 2001
England UK
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Ali Farka Touré, “Mahini Me (feat. Taj Mahal) [2017 - Remaster]”
from The Source (2017 - Remaster)
World Circuit - 2017
Mali, 1992
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Hamad Kalkaba and The Golden Sounds, “Tchakoulaté”
from 1974 - 1975 (Analog Africa No. 24) - EP
Analog Africa - 2017
Cameroon, 1974
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The Bongo Hop, “Ah! Kumana (feat. Jean Tchoumi)”
from La Pata Coja
Underdog - 2024
France-Colombia-Cameroon
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Tim Maia, “O Caminho do Bem”
from World Psychedelic Classics 4: Nobody Can Live Forever - The Existential Soul of Tim Maia
LUAKA BOP - 2012
Brazil, 1975
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Mahmoud Ahmed, “Sidetegnash Negh / Samiraye / Endenesh Gedawo”
from Ere Mela Mela - Modern Music from Ethiopia
Master Classics Records - 2011
Ethiopia, 1975
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Afro-Zen Allstars, “Ere Mela Mela”
from live at Mahmoud Ahmed's retirement celebration, Nov 29 2024
unreleased - 2024
USA
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Mahmoud Ahmed, “Antchi Enén Wedèdjign”
from Éthiopiques, Vol. 19: Mahmoud Ahmed (1974)
Buda musique - 2005
Ethiopia, 1974
Global A Go-Go Global A Go-Go December 1st, 2024
Posted In: Music Shows
Tuned in just in time! I heard you announce it at the beginning of the show and just remember to turn on the radio. Looking forward to hearing George Lowe tell his story.