Fairfield Ethio-Jazz Project (album launch)

Some of SW England's finest contemporary musicians pay joyous tribute to Bath's most famous resident: HIM Emperor Haile Selassie I

Ethio-Jazz live at Roundhill Barn, Kelston: Come hear some of the south-west's leading contemporary musicians pay unique tribute to the legacy of HIM Emperor Haile Selassie I.

The Fairfield Ethio-Jazz Project combines distinctly East African qenets with a driving Afrojazz rhythm section, spiced up with a dose of west country psychedelia. Special guest tonight is the virtuoso krar player Julius Richard, playing the traditional Ethiopian harp.

Historical background: From 1936–1941, HIM and the Imperial Family lived in exile at Fairfield House, Bath during Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia. Decades later after liberation, a vibrant Ethio-Jazz scene flourished under HIM's rule in Addis Ababa. This was led by figures such as Mulatu Astatke, Hailu Mergia & Girma Bèyènè.

The Fairfield Ethio-Jazz Project brings this musical legacy to life in the unforgettable rural setting of Kelston Roundhill Barn.

The band's debut LP album Bath Ketema (which also features Adrian Utley and Harriet Riley) will be on sale.
https://fairfieldethio-jazzproject.bandcamp.com/album/bath-ketema

Food on sale, and bar. No dogs please (except guide dogs).

Lineup:
Laura Jurd - trumpet
Will Gregory - saxes, oboe, synth
Ross Hughes - winds, synth
Julius Richard - krar, guitar
Josh Stidwill - electric piano
Stephen ‘Blaggy’ Blagrove - kpanlogo, brekete & kanganu
Norman ‘Rubba’ Stephenson - dundun, gankogui & axatse
Riaan Vosloo - double bass
Mark Whitlam - drums