“Visiting Jerusalem in 1924, the leader who would later become Emperor Haile Selassie was greeted by a brass band, which was made up of orphaned survivors of the Armenian genocide. He was impressed, and promptly invited the musicians to live in Ethiopia, along with their band leader, Kevork Nalbandian. There the group was known as “Arba Lijoch”, Amharic for “The Forty Children”.

The arrival of Arba Lijoch in Addis Ababa was a revolutionary moment in the country’s cultural history. An indigenous musical tradition based on stringed instruments began to morph into one revolving around large brass bands.” :: https://telegra.ph/Ethio-jazz-is-a-product-of-migration-and-heroic-ingenuity-01-06