"The premise: the loss of love. This universal theme is handled here in uniquely Ethiopian manner. The inspiration comes from an old Ethiopian song, where a woman leaves her husband just before the Ethiopian New Year (which is in September). Jorga Mesfin's sax plays a mournful refrain lamenting the loss of his love. Andrea Fabbri's playing, on the other hand, represents a former scorned lover, still seething, which boils over into a rant. By the end, both remember what it was like to love this woman, and they sing the mournful refrain together, almost as one."- from the liner notes for The Prester John Sessions
This song is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a while. The first time I heard it, it struck me as something powerful, and I listened to it several times over. It comes deep in The Prester John Sessions, the first solo album from Tommy T (a.k.a. Thomas T Gobena), bassist for Gogol Bordello. Born in Ethiopia, Gobena draws upon his native's country culture to create an album here that explores his country's musical diversity, blending dub reggae, funk, and jazz into music that flows between the mystical and worldly.
The saxes in this piece, trading space back and forth, interacting, conversing, mourning, pull you through to share their sadness. Sheer beauty. Listen and be prepared for melancholy.
2 comments:
How you felt about September Blues was how I felt about Brothers. It hit me immediately.
Brothers is mos def the hit for me. Just heard it on the radio in NYC too, although I agree with you, September Blues is slammin too!
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