Biography
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Born
1958
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Born In
Mersa, Āmara, Ethiopia
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Died
17 December 2006 (aged 48)
Mohammed 'Jimmy' Mohammed was an Ethiopian vocalist. After becoming blind as a child, supposedly as a curse for his parents' decision to ignore the warnings of a fortune teller and baptize him, as God had willed him to be a Muslim, Mohammed ran away and spent several years on the streets, homeless, begging for food, finding solace in the songs of legendary vocalist Tlahoun Gèssèssè (immortalized in several volumes of the amazing Ethiopiques series) who not only sang beautifully, but whose songs addressed the plight of the poor and suffering.
Mohammed was eventually discovered and cared for, enrolled in a school for the blind and raised by a kind hearted surrogate father. After money was raised to help restore his sight, he was heartbroken to discover the funds were stolen and his eyesight was never to be restored. Mohammed spent a brief stint in the national theater before becoming a nightclub singer, where he became more and more popular. Mohammed mostly sings Tlahoun Gèssèssè's pop songs from the '60s / '70s, being as those are the songs that most affected him throughout his life, but it's his voice and the unique arrangements that make him so special.
He appeared briefly on the Ethiopiques 2 compilation, then released the proper full length "Takkabel!". The music of that album is squiggly and complex, dense and tangled, angular but so lovely. On that album Mohammed's band is augmented by legendary Dutch free jazz drummer Han Bennink, Massimo Pupillo from Italian drone jazz combo Zu, as well as the warm smooth sax from Ethiopian legend and Ethio-jazz innovator Gétatchèw Mèkurya.
Mohammed passed away in December, 2006.
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