The most highly anticipated release of Ethiopian music in years is just out, and it was worth the wait. As advertised, Gigi's voice has both the fluttering, traditional authenticity and power of Ethiopia's most celebrated diva, Aster Aweke, and also the vibratoless pure tones and international accessibility of Afropop stars like Oumou Sangare. Under Bill Laswell's production, and with such eminent guest artists as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, David Gilmore, Henry Threadgill and Tony Cedras, Gigi's international debut is a genre-bending Afropop landmark.

Gigi Shibabaw was raised amid a family of ten in the Ethiopian countryside, surrounded by music. Her early determination to become a singer put her at odds with her father, but she never wavered, leaving home for Nairobi before returning to Addis Ababa--the Ethiopian capital--as a singer and songwriter of instant note. Opportunities quickly emerged for her, and at the age of 24, she landed in San Francisco, where she began releasing music for the Ethiopian expatriate community, and attracted the attention of Chris Blackwell. Three years later, she's getting world music's most royal treatment with a high-concept release on one of the genre's most ambitious labels.

Happily, the resulting music is worthy of this star-is-born tale. On the pumping opener, "Gud Fella," Gigi's voice is clear and strong as she declares anxious infatuation with a dangerous man. Impossible and inappropriate love is the overriding theme in these thirteen very different tracks. Some, like "Gud Fella," put a classy sheen on what is essentially dance pop. Elsewhere, more traditional elements emerge strongly, as on "Bale Washintu," with its quickly tripping ¾ rhythm and rich flute melodies. The jazz players here mostly blend, adding subtle richness. Shorter's contributions are particularly satisfying, his tenor sax commenting wryly on "Mengedegna" ("Always on the Road")--Gigi sings, "In love with a hawk, I'm a hawk myself."--and echoing Coletrane's "A Love Supreme," on the set's slow, blissful closer, "Adwa." With a single bold stroke, Gigi stands as the most important new African singer on the scene today.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre