Getatchew Mekurya (

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ጌታቸው መኩሪያ ወልደ ተክሌ; 14 March 1935 – 4 April 2016) was an Ethiopian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Early career

Mekurya was born on 14 March 1935, in Yifat, Ethiopia. His father was a honey merchant. Young Getatchew played traditionel Ethiopian instruments such as the

washint Washint (Amharic: ዋሽንት) is an end-blown wooden flute originally used in Ethiopia. Traditionally, Amharic musicians would pass on their oral history through song accompanied by the ''washint'' as well as the krar, a six stringed lyre, and ...

flute, the

krar Krar (Amharic: ክራር) is a five-or-six stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern ''Krar'' may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin. The ''Krar'', along wit ...

and the

masenqo The Masenqo ( am, ማሲንቆ; Tigrinya: ጭራ-ዋጣ (ዋጣ) is a single-stringed bowed lute commonly found in the musical traditions of Ethiopia. As with the krar, this instrument is used by Ethiopian minstrels called '' azmaris'' ("singer ...

, and later moved on to the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

. At age 13, he began his professional career in 1949 as a part of the Municipality Band in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. In 1955 he joined the house band at Addis' Haile Selassie I Theatre, and in 1965 joined the famous Police Orchestra. He was also one of the first musicians to record an instrumental version of ''shellela'', a genre of traditional Amhara vocal music sung by warriors before going into battle. Mekurya took the ''shellela'' tradition seriously, often appearing onstage in a warrior's animal-skin tunic and lion's mane headdress. He continued to refine his instrumental ''shellela'' style, recording an entire album in 1970, ''Negus of Ethiopian Sax'', released on

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

Ethiopia during the heyday of the Ethiojazz movement. Mekurya continued to work alongside many of the biggest orchestras in the Ethiopian capital, accompanying renowned singers

Alemayehu Eshete Alemayehu Eshete Andarge ( am, ዓለማየሁ እሸቴ አንዳርጌ; French pronunciation: Alèmayèhu Eshèté; June 1941 – 2 September 2021) was an Ethiopian singer. He had performed since the 1960s and primarily in Amharic. He had been ...

, Hirut Beqele, and Ayalew Mesfin.

Later career, collaborations with The Ex and others

Mekurya reached an international audience when his album ''Negus of Ethiopian Sax'' was re-released as part of the Ethiopiques CD series. Mekurya's playing style has been compared to

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

, but developed in isolation from it during the early 1950s. Mekurya has said he is unfamiliar with either

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

. Dutch avant-garde/punk band The Ex caught the ears of Mekurya, and he invited them to play with him, which they did from 2004 on. Mekurya asked the Ex to be the backing band for his 2006 album, ''

Moa Anbessa ''Moa Anbessa'' is an album by Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria with Dutch post-punk band The Ex and guests, released in 2006 on The Ex's subsidiary label Terp. Background The project came together on the heels of The Ex's previous stud ...

''. The Ex and Mekurya toured The Netherlands, Belgium and France together in 2006 and 2007, and then the United States in 2008 and Canada in 2009 with members of the group

Fendika Fendika (Amharic: "Exult!") is an Ethiopian music group based in Addis Ababa. Led by dancer/choreographer Melaku Belay, they operate a venue, tour, record, and perform under the name Fendika. History Born in 1980 in Ethiopia, Melaku Belay liv ...

. A second album with The Ex, ''

Y'Anbessaw Tezeta ''Y'Anbessaw Tezeta'' is the second studio album by Ethiopian tenor saxophone player Getatchew Mekuria in collaboration with Dutch punk rock band The Ex and several other musicians. The title is Amharic for "The Memory of the Lion" and Mekurya i ...

'', was released in 2012. Mèkurya added his distinctive sound to collaborations with numerous other contemporary artists, including British Tamil singer

Susheela Raman Susheela Raman (born 21 July 1973) is a British musician. She was nominated for the 2006 BBC World Music Awards. Her debut album '' Salt Rain'' was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001. She is known for energetic, vibrant, syncretic, and u ...

and Boston jazz ensemble Either/Orchestra. He lived in Addis Ababa, and regularly performed at the Sunset Bar at the

Sheraton Addis The Sheraton Addis is an international hotel located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is part of Marriott's Luxury Collection. It has 293 rooms, as well as a number of villas. Profile The hotel was built by MIDROC Ethiopia, and designed by architect ...

, and also at Fendika Azmari Bet.

Personal life

Mekurya's wife Ayalech died in 2015. He died in 2016 of a leg infection caused by

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, aged 81. He was survived by nine children and numerous grandchildren.

Discography

* "Shellela" 45 (late 1950s) * ''Ethiopiques Volume 14: Negus of Ethiopian Sax'' (recorded in 1970, originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1972) * ''Ethiopiques Volume 20: Either/Orchestra Live in Addis'' (Mekuria appears on the track "Shellella") (recorded in 2004) * ''

'' (with The Ex and other guests) (2006) * ''Gétatchèw Mèkurya & The Ex + Guests VD, Ethiosonic/Buda Musique' (2007) * ''

'' (with the Ex and Friends, 2012) * '' The Rough Guide to the Music of Ethiopia'' (2012,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

)

References

External links

*
Getatchew Mekurya
at discogs.com

at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekurya, Getatchew 1935 births 2016 deaths 20th-century saxophonists Ethiopian musicians 21st-century saxophonists