Unidentified Azmari, Wollo, Ethiopia

Today's post is another straight to cassette recording.  This is recording was made in a tejbet, a honey wine bar, in Ethiopia.  The patrons of tejbets are often entertained by azmaris, musicians playing most often the masenqo (one-string fiddle) or the krar (lyre). This cassette was most made in a tejbet in Wollo, most probably in the regional capital of Dessie.  Here is an hour of an azmari playing the masenqo and singing for the patrons of a tejbet.  

I have no idea when this recording was made or who the azmari is.  I stole this recording from a very dear friend who is crazy about masenqo, all he remembers is that he found this cassette in Wollo.  I have hundreds of cassettes like this, beautiful recordings with almost no information identifying the artist or the precise circumstances of the recording.

Share Unidentified Azmari.zip - 137 MB

The lovely picture of the unidentified Azmari was taken by a photographer I also haven't been able to identified.