Possessed of an immensely powerful voice and a tireless performance ethic that garnered him comparisons to James Brown, Alemayehu Eshete recorded a series of seminal sides with accomplished Ethiopian bands like Addis Ababa's Police Orchestra and the Alèm-Girma Band. Eshete favored syncopated rhythms and staccato horns derived from American funk and soul, but his keening vocals and chilling minor-key melodies were distinctively Ethiopian. Alemayehu Eshete died on September 2, 2021, at the age of 80.