ERE MELA MELA (FRA)

Vinyl LP repressing of this original Ethiopian classic album. Ere Mela Mela is the finest Ethio jazz by Mahmoud Ahmed and his band from 1975 plus two tracks from 1978. The liner notes: 'Melancholy blues, piercingly minimalist country airs, brassy, danceable urban jazz, heart-wrenching, off-key crooners: A rich and stirring patchwork of sounds, crossing Afro-beat, Latino-swing moves and Eastern arabesques (Ana?s Prosa?c).' Once upon a time, there was a street urchin in Addis Ababa, who started off as a shoe-shine boy and went on to become one of his country's biggest stars, opening the door to Ethiopian music to Western audiences.