All-Music Guide (C) 1994  by Matrix Software, Big Rapids, MI 49307

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       (also bios, sidemen, tracks, ratings, and reviews)
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 Artist : Aster Aweke
 Genre  : World
 Style  : African, Ethnic
          , Pop-jazz
 Instr. : Vocals
 Rating : importance (3) 

                     All-Music Guide Biography

 Washington, DC, singer who combines Ethiopian melismatic singing with
 contemporary dance beats. ~ All-Music Guide

 ---------- Related Artists -----------
 Ahmed, Mahmoud
 Tuku Band
 Ethio Band

 AMG Artist ID #   : P000003200

    Chronological Album List    |Date|  Label   | Number |R S T|Rating
--------------------------------+----+----------+--------+-----+------
 Kabu                           |1990|CBS       |47846   |R    |  Good
 Aster                          |1989|CBS       |46848   |R    | BestA
 Aster Aweke                    |Z   |Triple Ear|107     |     |  Good

         All-Music Guide Album Details (Alphabetical Order)

----------------------- All-Music Guide Album ------------------------
 Album  : Aster
 Artist : Aster Aweke
 Rating : Best-of-Artist
 Charts : Down Beat #5
 Genre  : World
 Time   : 50:09 min
 Date   : 1989 (release)
 AMG ID : R000098112  (album inprint)

 --------- Album Releases ---------
      CD  CBS  CK-46848
      CD  CBS  46808
      CS  CBS  CT-46848
          CBS  CK 46848
 1990     CBS  46848
      CD  CBS  COL46848
      CD  CBS  46848

 ------- AMG Album Reviews -------
 Wow! Imagine the rich, successful amalgamation of two incredibly
 different cultural expressions -- Ethiopian melismatic singing with
 American R&B -- and you've come close to describing this talented DC
 resident; she sings over dance beats in her native Amharic in a
 quivering, microtonal wail, croons to a native harp and light
 percussion, keens over a classically-tinged piano -- this is "World
 Beat" at its best! Highly recommended! ~ Ladyslipper

 If Aretha Franklin had been born in Ethiopia, she might have grown up
 to be Aster Aweke. The singer mixes jazz, soul, funk, and Ethiopian
 strains to produce a form that's made her a superstar back home and a
 fast-rising talent in the US. American soul music has been a force in
 Ethiopia since the 60s, so Aweke's fervent vocalizing should ring a
 bell with most listeners. ~ J. Poet
 



----------------------- All-Music Guide Album ------------------------
 Album  : Aster Aweke
 Artist : Aster Aweke
 Rating : Good
 Genre  : World
 AMG ID : R000130515

 --------- Album Releases ---------
      CD  Triple Earth  TE107


----------------------- All-Music Guide Album ------------------------
 Album  : Kabu
 Artist : Aster Aweke
 Rating : Good
 Genre  : World
 Time   : 46:53 min
 AMG ID : R000098113  (album inprint)

 --------- Album Releases ---------
 1991 CD  CBS  CK-47846
      CD  CBS  47846
 1991 CS  CBS  CT-47846
 1991     CBS  47846
      CD  CBS  COL47846
      CD  CBS  47846

 ------- AMG Album Reviews -------
 The second effort of this amazing Ethiopian songwriter and vocalist
 has more of an Afro-pop musical sound, with the exception of the
 haunting love ballad, "Kabu," which means "sacred rock" and employs a
 slow marimba for both rhythm and melody... simply lovely! Backed up on
 other cuts by a variety of percussion instruments, horns, keyboards
 and acoustic bass, Aster's voice is again rich and enchanting. Lyrics
 are translated in the liner notes. Also includes several traditional
 Ethiopian songs with contemporary arrangements. Recommended! ~
 Ladyslipper

 This one is more Western, with jazzier arrangements, but Aweke's voice
 sounds even earthier and more passionate than on her debut album. ~ J.
 Poet
 

 Aster Aweke's music is not quite like anything you've ever heard,
 unless you've already been exposed to her extraordinary vocal
 artistry. The album represents a most unusual fusion of traditional
 Ethiopian music, with lyrics in that country's language, and elements
 of Western pop.
 Occassionally she sound like the young Miriam Makeba in a higher,
 thinner register, but the keening quality and complex ornamentation
 distinguish her sound from other types of non-Western music that have
 found an audience in this hemisphere.
 Most impressive is the hypnotically beautiful title song, Kabu (Sacred
 Rock). All in all, Aster Aweke is so compelling a singer that somehow
 it doesn't matter if we don't understand a word. ~ Phyl Garland,
 Stereo Review, March, 1992
 


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