Great Jazz in Town

Jazz gigs are growing to be familiar events that jazz Addis nights up. Among these are the “pioneer” Coffee House jam session and the Sheraton Gaslight jazz night, both offering quality jazz by featuring talented musicians. As our column explores these events this month, we invite you to soak up great jazz with us!

By Mahtot Teka
mahtot@ethionet.et

Coffee House

Coffee House is arguably the first club in Addis to have begun the Addis live jazz scene. And it has been a huge success entertaining Addis Ababans every Thursday with great jazz consistently for about 7 years now. It has also inspired other clubs to follow suit. Girum Mezmur, guitarist and organizer of the event, says that he always had wanted to have a night dedicated to live instrumentals and started it there with his colleagues from Afro Sound Band. With his inclination for jazz, the event grew to be a regular jazz jam session and a great one at that.

“I didn’t think there was anything like this in Addis. It’s sad I missed out on so many Thursdays before. And I wish they play only when I could make it so that I don’t miss any of it,” says an excited member of the audience who went there for the first time. Though many seem to share such a view about the jam session at the coffee house, there are others who don’t seem to take much of a liking to jazz in general. “Most people think it is difficult to enjoy jazz without technical knowledge about it,” says Girum and assures that such isn’t the case. “The more they listen and expose themselves to jazz the more people will develop the taste to appreciate it.” and adds that live jazz, where there is a lot of interaction among the musicians even with the audience, the spontaneous improvisations and all that, can make jazz interesting to people. Well, stop by the Coffee House and find out for yourselves.

Jazz jam session is on, every Thursday from 10:00P.M. The Coffee House is so laid back you could pop in with out planning ahead. If you arrive earlier you could take the best spot to enjoy the music best. Reserve a table if you struggle in late, and enjoy the music seated in front of the musicians. You can also relish the jazz standing and chit-chatting with your friends over drinks from the adjoining rooms. Everything about the place is nonchalant. With its modest furnishing, wall and floor finishes and pictures hung randomly on the walls, it musters a cozy and warm atmosphere.

Because it is a jam session, the musicians don’t rehearse ahead, they play spontaneously. They don’t know what pieces they are going to play and even with whom. The atmosphere is different, every time. A particular piece of music might be played differently at different times depending on the mood in the house. The audience might even request the musicians to play your favorite tune. You will definitely be glad you did!

The first half set of the event begins by featuring talented musicians booked for the occasion. Though there is not a regular band, there are musicians who are featured frequently: Professor Abiy Ford on congas Abegasu Shiota on keyboard, Beale Merawi and Henok Temesgen on base guitar, Girum Mezmur on lead guitar and Million Daba on drums Olaf Boelson on alto sax.

The jam session is largely instrumental but makes exceptions with talented vocalists, both local and foreign guests. The songs will be played in jazz style or incorporated with it. They also play a lot of Ethiopian music, again in jazz. “Ethiopian music is easy to adapt to jazz,” Explains Girum. When it is time to break at the end of the first set, you can hardly believe they even played a couple of pieces!

If you think you are real good on the instruments, the second set is your chance to prove it. It begins featuring an addition of musicians from the audience or it could even be a whole band ranging from local students of music to international musicians who happen to drop by the Coffee House. Because the jam session gives the platform “more local musicians are showing up, just to play,” says Girum and recalls that the coffee house had once had about 15 musicians (local and members of the Boston based Either Orchestra).

The house stays up past midnight jamming; exciting moving or soothing the packed audience. For Girum it must be an amazing contrast to see the Coffee House, which he calls “a full house” packed with people because he recalls that when they started, about 20 could have been the number of their audience. Good for Addis they didn’t get discouraged by that!

By the time you are set to leave because you have to go to work in a few hours, you find yourselves promising you won’t miss next Thursday.

Gaslight jazz night

 If you are ever up for jazz instrumentals along with great vocal performances in class and polish, the Sheraton Gaslight is the place to be, every first Wednesday of the month. About to celebrate its first anniversary, the jazz night organized by keyboardist/producer/arranger Abegasu Shiota, has been running smoothly, treating Addis Ababans to great music.

The event is the kind for which you would plan ahead for; starting from the way you dress as there is a dress code for all events at The Gaslight. Look your best and head over there. You will find the hall set up grandly for the event. It is not very intimate but not very impersonal either.

Until people settle down with their drinks and the musicians get ready, jazz instrumentals are played by the DJ. That definitely gears you up for what is coming. Abegasu recalls that it was his and The Gaslight’s manager, Ato Awol Jamal to have a jazz plus night at the Gaslight. “I came up with the idea of doing variety shows with a jazz theme. Initially the concept was to feature forgotten artist though now it has deviated from that.” And he adds, “It is also to encourage live music performance.” Surely, that enhances the popularity of live jazz in Addis!

The show begins at about 9:00 P.M. with live instrumental jazz beautifully played. The Sheraton Showcase Band plays with talented and famous musicians: Girum Mezmur, Henock Temesgen, Samson Jifar on drum Yared Tefera and Olaf Boelson on saxophone, Daniel Vessby on trumpet, Tim — on percussion drum. “It is difficult to have a regular band because everybody is doing their own thing but we have been lucky to have a whole band (for each show),” says Abegasu.

It is amazing how they do each piece. First, they all play the head introduction together “…that is the hook or identifying point of the song that would require rehearsal,” says Abegasu. And then right after that all subdue and highlight one who would solo improvise. The improvisation “is what is different about jazz. Other music is rehearsed and reproduced exactly as it is studied. Jazz is very spontaneous so it is all about composing on the spot.” The improvisation thing wows you!

During a break of a few minutes before the second set proceeds you will find yourselves commenting with your friends on how they played a certain piece or how well this or that has improvised. Abegasu says, “I don’t think laymen would know whether we are making mistakes on the choice of notes (during the improvisation) …but what people pick out is the energy… how you deliver those notes. There is lots of energy and emotion behind the note we are playing that would communicate with the audience.” If your imagination runs away with you, you might find your self daring to discuss on theory of — hold that thought!

The second set continues featuring a vocalist that could sing anything that isn’t jazz. It is interesting how your attention that has been varying from drums to keyboard, to guitar to sax shifts to the singer as they show up. (And by the way, how does it feel to be in the spotlight?) The event has had several famous vocalists on in during its year, including Tsedenya Gebre Markos and Girma Chibsa, who impressively covers oldies. Every once in a while there would be unannounced special guest vocal appearance who pleasantly surprising the audience. That could be legendary Aster Awoqe or Mohammed Ahmed! There even were international singers on like Sydney Solomon, Jamaican reggae artist, Ebony, a British R& B singer.

Cover charge is 40.00 Birr (60 Birr for couples) and yet the Sheraton image might be a little too intimidating. “Eventually we will have other venues because it is the only place available now…” promises Abegasu. In fact now, there is no cover price for sometime. You might as well use the chance! And the next jazz night first Wednesday of August will be their 1 st year anniversary “… we are trying to have a special event, more repertoire, big band, a lot of players, we probably would present new arrangements, new compositions,” says Abegasu.

Do not miss this one; they sound to be preparing to rock The Gaslight!