Temesgen Hussein (an Ethiopian musician, the house musician at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine) writes:

My music eStore is now live at www.temesgen.com – please stop by and visit.

Look forward to a fusion of Reggae, Ethiopian, and Indian music.

I appreciate your support in helping me continue to share my unique heart and outlook though my music.

I plan to release my exclusive album by the end of 2006 (which is right around the corner now).

Please spread the good word to cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, church groups, friends, co-workers, teachers, in-laws, out-laws, etc … Forward this on.

You can only find my music at www.temesgen.com – for now …

Listen with your heart.

Temesgen is a truly good man, as well as a musician carrying on a very old music tradition (one which is dying out in Ethiopia). I’ve known his wife, Carol, for nearly ten years (longer than I’ve known Altu). They are good folks.

Temesgen contributed to Wikipedia, the entry for the Begena (photo above). This is one of the instruments he plays, which is something like a lute. Temesgen also plays a smaller instrument, also a sort of lyre (with a body that looks like a relative of the banjo to me), called a Krar. There is an overview “Ethiopian Music” page at Wikipedia as well.
Perhaps you’d like to check out the new site, and support this new venture.

When I just now went to the page (which is still in early development) I clicked on “enter” and then it presented me with several album/CD covers (this page may require a plug-in such as Flash to display properly, as it has moving images on the “front cover”). No matter which cover I clicked on, I got to a page where I could listen to a handful of his recorded songs. At this point it appears you can not order a CD yet but he is accepting voluntary donations toward the project. (Don’t feel obligated, but I can vouch for how much up front cash it can take to get a new CD produced.)

Donation or not, you can listen to the music. It’s definitely worth the time.

Photo: Temesgen with Begena at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine. I took this photo perhaps in 2004.