The Doktor's Surgery would like to pay tribute to the recently deceased blind Ethiopian singer Mohammed "Jimmy" Mohammed. I was fortunate enough to see this man perform in Paris last year as part of the 'Banlieues Bleues' festival. Mr Mohammed performed as part of a quartet, with two Ethiopian musicians and Han Bennink on drums. The songs performed by this man were deceptively simple yet full of emotion, joy and passion, and without the use of crowd-pleasing antics, Mohammed captivated the entire audience. Using traditional songs taught to him from childhood, Mohammed transcended obvious language barriers to put across his music and (cliche alert) made the songs his own. The musical backing was faultless too (I could kinda live without some of Bennink's showboating, though).
If you (like me) have an allergy to "world" music as perpetrated by the likes of the Real World label, then cast aside your doubts and prejudices and check this guy out. He has a CD available from the good people at Terp Records.
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