Fairfield House Ethio Jazz Project - Bath Ketema is an exuberant, contemporary and distinctly psychedelic recreation of the simmering Ethio-Jazz sounds pioneered in Addis Ababa in the 1960s and 1970s by musicians such as Mulatu Astatke and Hailu Mergia & the Walias Band.

Fairfield House, Bath is where HIM Emperor Haile Selassie I lived in exile 1936-1941 when Mussolini invaded his native Ethiopia. Gifted by HIM to the city of Bath as a home for the aged, today Fairfield House hosts a thriving community which celebrates HIM’s gift and his legacy. www.fairfieldhousebath.co.uk

As part of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of HIM being awarded the Freedom of the City of Bath, Fairfield House convened an Ethio-Jazz Project under the musical direction of Ross Hughes. The Fairfield House Ethio-Jazz Project has since grown in ambition and popularity, now attracting some exceptional musicians in the Bath and Bristol region.

The complex rhythms are laid down by Riaan Vosloo (double bass) and Mark Whitlam (drum kit) playing for the first time with percussionists Stephen ‘Ras Blaggy’ Blagrove and Norman ‘Jah Rubba’ Stephenson. Horn section and soloists are Laura Jurd (trumpet), Will Gregory (alto & bari sax, oboe, synth) and Ross Hughes (alto flute, bass clarinet, tenor sax, synth). Synths are played by Ross (Microkorg) and Will (Roland SH101). Adrian Utley adds his unique style of electric guitar, Harriet Riley plays vibraphone and Julius Richard adds the distinctively authentic Ethiopian sound of the krar.