SEVENTH PLACE
Tezeta’s debut album Seventh Place was recorded in 2015 and to mark it’s 10 year anniversary has been pressed to vinyl for the first time by Klang Tone Records.
‘Tezeta were an experimental eight-piece instrumental group formed in Bristol back in 2014. The Ethiopiques series lit the fuse, but the project quickly gathered Afrobeat, prog, and improvisation into a beguiling mix — always evolving and resolving in different ways to what you might expect — with some thrilling ensemble playing rhythmically propelled by two drummers and a percussionist, and pianist Daniel Inzani’s evocative melodies at the centre. They had a cult following among other musicians and were known for wild group solo wig outs, virtuoso musicianship and creative use of unusual rhythm, harmony and melody. They toured across the UK at various venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Shambala and Green Man, before calling it a day in 2023. Seventh Place was originally a private press CDR, released in 2016; mainly sold at gigs.’ Honest Johns
Stream: https://danielinzani.ffm.to/seventhplace
Buy: https://tezeta.bandcamp.com/album/seventh-place
VIDEOS
BIOGRAPHY
Tezeta was born out of the Bristol based experimental music collective ‘Bloom’; a group of musicians who collaborated on recordings, performances and curating concert series of contemporary music between 2012 – 2019.
Bloom Music Collective
Band leader Daniel Inzani had initially formed two distinct projects with some mutual musicians;
– an unamed five piece prog rock group who performed one concert of Inzani’s early compositions inspired by a Mahavishnu Orchestra tribute act he had joined (who also only performed one concert)
– and an 8 piece Ethiopian jazz line up who learnt a set of music from the golden 1970’s Ethiopian music scene, including songs by Mulatu Astatke, Hailu Mergia and Getatchew Mekurya
In 2014, after a few line up variations, Inzani decided to amalgamate these two projects into the eight piece group ‘Tezeta’, the Ethiopian word meaning nostalgia and the name of a musical scale used in Ethiopian trad. This new line up performed his compositions that merged Ethiopian music with jazz, prog, funk and psychedelia;
Pete Gibbs – Bass
Andrew Neil Hayes – Tenor saxophone
Daniel Inzani – Fender Rhodes, piano, organ
Matthew Jones – Drums
Lorenzo Prati – Tenor saxophone
Harriet Riley – Marimba, vibraphone, percussion
Conrad Singh – Electric Guitar
Daniel Truen – Drums
Tezeta Line Up
Tezeta recorded their debut album ‘Seventh Place’ live in 2015 at the Bloom music collective’s analogue home studio setup, which was a social hub for the Bristol music scene, a rehearsal space and had also recorded fellow Bloom acts Count Bobo, Dubi Dolczek, Yama Warashi, The Evil Usses, Cloudshoes and Spindle Ensemble.
Tezeta had a cult following among other musicians and were known for their wild group solo wig outs, virtuoso musicianship and creative use of unusual rhythm, harmony and melody. They toured the UK festivals and venues, including Glastonbury, Shambala and Green Man, and subsequently released an EP named ‘Curious Bubble’ in 2020.
In 2023 Tezeta performed a sold out final show at Strange Brew, Bristol as Inzani decided to pursue solo releases, notably his critically acclaimed triple vinyl album ‘Selected Worlds’, which was named as Contemporary Album of the Month in September 2024 by The Guardian, receiving a 5 star review. The third disc ‘Play’ was a clear continuation and development of the music Inzani had developed with Tezeta and featured many of the same musicians.
Since the release of Seventh Place, you can still hear some of the Tezeta repertoire performed by Daniel Inzani when he performs with his band line up.
BANDCAMP
Recorded at the Bloom home studio.
Mixed by Daniel Inzani, Matthew Jones and Daniel Truen.
Produced by Daniel Inzani and Matthew Jones.
Mastered by Chris Daniels.
PRESS
‘Exciting stuff‘ Giles Peteron, BBC 6 Music
‘Absolutely gorgeous from start to finish’ Deb Grant, BBC 6 Music
‘Loving this’ Zakia Sewell, BBC 6 Music
‘Thrilling ensemble playing’ Honest Jons
‘Gorgeous mood music with more than a nod to Addis. Lovely tapestries and textures’ Matt Temple, Matsuli Music
‘a bewitching mix of jazz fused with Ethiopian music and progressive rock – wonderfully complex and melodic at the same time’ Klang Tone Records
‘the compelling pleasure of Tezeta is that weird alchemy that turns potentially difficult rhythms into compulsive dance floor fillers‘ Bristol 247
ARTWORK
The main image is from ‘Project Rewind’, a double exposure photography collaboration between Karen Dews and Paul Blakemore
Vinyl graphic design by Adam Hinks