Tezeta means “emptiness, melancholy, nostalgia, gloom.”  Beginning in the 1960s, it became a kind of subgenre in Ethiopian music, local blues, you might say.  This volume strips away the pop and dance elements of the Addis sound and goes deep into the Ethiopian soul source.  Star vocalists rub shoulders with lesser-knowns and talented instrumentalists, all united by a slow, dark, introspective mood.  Among these 12 tracks are five remarkably diverse takes on the classic brooder, “Tezeta,” which sometimes hints at an over-the-top take on “House of the Rising Sun.”  Borrowings from jazz and soul abound, but never overwhelm the smoldering, local character.  This is mood music for those who are never happier than when they are miserable.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre