We have discussed the project here before, but people are getting quite excited about Russ Gershon and the Either/Orchestra's ongoing Ethio-jazz activities. The band's new CD, Live in Addis, was recently released on Buda Musique . The band has been making appearances locally with Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke and talking about the new Either/Orchestra recording and Jim Jarmusch's use of Astatke's music in his new film Broken Flowers.
In Thursday's Boston Phoenix, Jon Garelick took a look at the Either/Orchestra's Ethio-jazz project as did Bob Young in Tuesday's Boston Herald.
You can hear the Either/Orchestra play Ethio-jazz with Mulatu Astatke in a November 2004 performance from New Sounds Live at World Financial Center (aired on WNYC January 13, 2005).
Russ and Mulatu Astatke dropped in on Christopher Lydon's Open Source on WGBH-FM on October 12. The full hour is available here.
For our part, the Celebrity Series will present the Either/Orchestra and Ethiopian guest musicians on Saturday, January 28 at the Berklee Performance Center.