“Yene Hassab” comes from our Either/Orchestra concert in Addis Ababa in 2011.  This concert was with Girma Negash, who originally sang this when it was a hit back in the…1960s?  The concert was held in the beautiful courtyard of the Alliance Francaise in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Lighting was a bit tricky because we didn’t have any flood lamps or stand lights, and the electricity went out a few times.  But all in all, I think we were all delighted to be playing this great music with Girma in Addis.

My bass!  It is an electric upright bass made by the Italian company AlterEgo.  Around this time, I was an endorser of these basses.  Even though our relationship is no longer a formal one, I am so grateful to them that I like to talk about the instruments and the people at AlterEgo whenever I can.  This instrument is a pretty fantastic one, and because of some damage to my double bass, ended up being my main instrument for a few years.  Great instrument!