emahoy tsegué-maryam guèbrou – piano solo

The thing I’m enjoying most about the internet these days is that there is so much more out there.  A few years ago, when I started AESO, it was a real bitch finding videos to go with my posts because no one had posted any.  I’d look for something for “Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells a Story” and come up with zilch.  Then  I would have to post a track on a file sharing service and link that instead…and it sucked.

Now, it seems like everything has a video now ….except for Paul Desmond. 

And I was surprised the other day to spot my girl Emahoy Guèbrou up an Youtube now as well.

Now I usually don’t play a lot of classical music but Emahoy’s music really doesn’t seem to fit that category either.  The best word I can use to describe it is “haunting.”

Born in Ethiopia in 1923, Emahoy was sent to Switzerland with her sister where she studied violin and piano. In 1937, she and her family were captured by the Italians and sent to a POW camp off the coast of Italy. After the war, she continued her studies in Cairo before returning to Ethiopia and eventually becoming the Imperial Bodyguard’s Band music director…at the request of Emperor Haile Selassie.  At age 19 she left her home to enter a monastery where she continued to compose music for violin, piano and organ…often for more than 9 hours a day.

She released her first album in 1967, with the Emperors help, with all proceeds going to help orphans of the Italio-Ethiopian War.  But in 1984 she was forced to flee her home country because of the repressive view of the new Socialist Government.  She moved to Jerusalem where she continued her work, making awesome music that no one had ever heard before.

Her music is unique in that it draws upon 3000 years of Ethiopian history and music and mixes it with contemporary styles to arrive at something between classical and jazz.  She is in her late eighties now and is still knocking out new tunes. This album is just one of those amazing works, full of melancholy and longing that kind of stays with you long after listening.  This is the only album I could find of hers, a compilation released as part of the amazing Ethiopiques series of CDs . The whole series is awesome and if you are interested in more music from that region, I highly recommend them, as each volume highlights another incredible artist.

The CD is a little pricey, but the mp3 download is only $9. Go get it!

Carol King – Tapestry

-Carol King?

Yeah, what of it?

-My mom listens to that crap! What are you smoking?

Crack…with a little speed sprinkled on top.  I call it speedballing!

-But, Carol King?!?!

Have you listened to the album?

-No, but…

Then shut up and take notes.

I too found it weird that I would like an album like this…until I listened to it and said: “Damn…that’s that shit, right there!” Hell, I would never have picked it up if I hadn’t been perusing the ‘Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time’ list, spotted it and gave it a spin.

More people should give that method a try.

I’ve always had a soft spot for singer/songwriters…or anyone who has a profession that has a slash in it.  I admire multi-taskers.  Born in Brooklyn, King learned piano at an early age before moving on to singing. While attending Queens college, she made some new musical friends like Neil Sedaka (who wrote “Oh! Carol” for her,) Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin.  It was her partnership with Gerry that would launch her career.

The two formed a partnership working as songwriters for Aldon Music, who was churning out hits all through the sixties.  Their first big hit was ‘Will You Love me Tomorrow?’by the Shirelles which topped the charts in 1961 and was later covered by folks like Dusty Springfield, Laura Branigan and The Four Seasons.   The two eventually married and had two daughters.

Over the course of their career, the two penned a slew of hits like ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ for the Monkees, ‘The Loco-Motion’ by Little Eva and ‘(You Make me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ for Aretha Franklin.

As the sixties came to a close, King and Goffin grew apart and divorced, as King began to focus on her own singing career.  After a few failed albums( “Now That Everything’s Been Said” and “Writer”), and modest hits, she had yet to crack the top 10.

Until 1971, that is.

That’s when King released “Tapestry,” a piano fueled folksy collection of her early hits and new compositions.  You know she struck gold when “Tapestry” held the title of best selling pop solo album ever until it was de-throned by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” twelve years later.  The LP is chock full of wonderful singles like ‘I Feel The Earth Move,’ ‘It’s Too Late’ and ‘You’ve Got A Friend.’ And the vibe is warm and inviting…and sometimes rocking!

“Tapestry” Still remains a landmark album and a testament to the power of the singer/songwriter era of the early seventies.

And you don’t have to smoke crack to enjoy it.

Amazon!