Young Ethiopians came to the Swedish embassy property in Addis Ababa on Saturday night to see a performance at the annual “Ethio Jazz” festival, which recognizes the country’s profound origins in jazz culture.
Hundreds of partygoers danced, mimed, and drank beer to the sounds of Ethiopian jazz artists playing on a neon-lit stage in the country’s capital during the second annual Addis Jazz Festival (AJF).
AJF was founded in 2019 to develop Ethiopian jazz and bring worldwide jazz to Ethiopia. Muzikawi, an Ethiopian music and event production company, is in charge of arranging the festival.
“Today’s youth are interested in Ethio Jazz; whenever we perform (a) concert, the youth show us their support and encourage us to keep doing what we’re doing.” Jorga Mesfin, a famous Ethiopian saxophonist and jazz artist who performed at the event, characterized the evening as “really wonderful.”
The concert includes instruments such as saxophone, guitar, trombone, percussion, and drums. “Our country has a major untapped artistic resource in Ethio Jazz,” said Teshome Wendimu, Muzikawi’s creator and manager.
He said Ethiopia was sitting on a gold mine of untapped jazz potential.
We bear the blame. We might have produced many outstanding musicians who could have helped jazz acquire prominence in the United States.
The performance included some of Ethiopia’s most well-known performers, including the Young Addis jazz ensemble, with highlights including their trademark song, “Adwa.”
The Swedish band Club Killers were slated to perform on the last night of the two-day event.
