1. Getatchew Mekurya was an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist.
15 Facts About Getatchew Mekurya
1. 2.
Getatchew Mekurya was born on 14 March 1935, in Yifat, Ethiopia.
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Young Getatchew played traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the washint flute, the krar and the masenqo, and later moved on to the saxophone and clarinet.
4.
At age 13, Getatchew Mekurya began his professional career in 1949 as a part of the Municipality Band in Addis Ababa.
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Getatchew Mekurya was 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.
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Getatchew Mekurya took the shellela tradition seriously, often appearing onstage in a warrior's animal-skin tunic and lion's mane headdress.
7.
Getatchew Mekurya continued to refine his instrumental shellela style, recording an entire album in 1970, Negus of Ethiopian Sax, released on Philips Ethiopia during the heyday of the Ethiojazz movement.
8.
Getatchew Mekurya reached an international audience when his album Negus of Ethiopian Sax was re-released as part of the Ethiopiques CD series.
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Getatchew Mekurya's playing style has been compared to free jazz, but developed in isolation from it during the early 1950s.
10.
Getatchew Mekurya has said he is unfamiliar with either Ornette Coleman or Albert Ayler.
11.
Getatchew Mekurya asked the Ex to be the backing band for his 2006 album, Moa Anbessa.
12.
The Ex and Getatchew 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.
13.
Getatchew Mekurya lived in Addis Ababa, and regularly performed at the Sunset Bar at the Sheraton Addis, and at Fendika Azmari Bet.
14.
Getatchew Mekurya died in 2016 of a leg infection caused by diabetes, aged 81.
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Getatchew Mekurya was survived by nine children and numerous grandchildren.