Trio Kazanchis got together by coincidence in 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s musical hotspot while playing Jam Sessions in Melaku Belay’s Club Fendika and Mulatu Astatke’s own African- Jazz Club before touring Europe most underground venues and related festivals. The original line-up is Jeroen Visser (NL, Baritonsax & FarfisaOrgan), Mesele Asmamaw (ETH, Krar & Vox) and Fabien Duscombs (F, Drums). Endris Hassen (ETH, masinqo) joined the group in 2013 (he’s the +1). Kazanchis +1 plays songs with an Ethiopian origin, either modern or traditional, and an European 80’s touch combined with free energetic improvisation using highly-developed Ethiopian pentatonic scales for slow trance-like to up-tempo energetic moods. The band’s choice of instruments showed itself on European stages as very elastic, nicely melting together, as well as a challenging combination, all in all successful. Mesele Asmamaw, described as the Jimi Hendricks on his instrument the electric Krar (the 6-string Ethiopian Lyre), has become known as innovator & virtuose of his instrument in Ethiopia. Fabien Duscombs, the quicksilver drummer from Toulouse lays down the perfect grid for Mesele to play his syncopating accents. Jeroen Visser glues them two tightly together providing bass and chords with his Farfisa Organ/Synth, or challenges with his baritone sax. Since summer 2013 the amazing Masinqo-player (one stringed violin) Endris Hassen has become full member of the group, completing the sound and surprisingly even reinforcing the Trio-Feel.

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