An Azmari (Amharic: አዝማሪ) is an entertainer who sings and plays traditional string instruments of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are comparable to medieval European minstrels, bards or West African griots. [1]
Azmari, who may be either male or female, are skilled at singing extemporized verses, accompanying themselves on either a masenqo (one-stringed fiddle) or krar (lyre).
- ^ Kebede, Ashenafi (January 1975). "The "Azmari", Poet-Musician of Ethiopia". The Musical Quarterly. 61 (1): 47–57. doi:10.1093/mq/lxi.1.47.