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Credit the impressively deep Ethiopiques series with demystifying music flowing out of the Horn of Africa. For many of us, encountering those CD comps in the late ’90s was nothing short of a revelation. For Danny Mekonnen, however, that intoxicating strain of spidery funk was the soundtrack to his childhood, imported by his Ethiopian immigrant parents. As bandleader and saxophonist in Boston’s Debo Band, he’s made it his livelihood as well.
Debo’s more a musical pilgrimage than a tribute per se. Last year’s Flamingoh (Pink Bird Dawn) EP was the result of a 2010 trip to East Africa that paired the group with dance troupe Fendika. Rooted in azmari tradition, the latter adds a vibrant element live. Lead dancer Melaku Belay simply radiates joy as he and his dancers lose their inhibitions and submit their bodies to Debo’s mesmerizing Ethio-jazz grooves.
Together, Debo and Fendika made inroads in the Midwest as well, appearing twice at last year’s World Music Festival. They’ve reteamed to sweep Grant Park’s SummerDance showcase and the Old Town School, and close out their local run at the Hideout with two splinter groups—Mekonnen’s more jazz-informed sax-drums unit And Lay Duo and the Zena Bel Band, a Debo-Fendika hybrid.
08/09/11
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