Date: Monday, 09 November 2026
Contributing Reporter
The Yale Ethiopian and Eritrean Students Association and the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective co-hosted their second annual evening of jazz on Saturday.
The event, held in the Davenport College common room, highlighted the jazz traditions of Ethiopia and Eritrea, neighboring countries in east Africa. According to YEESA President Liana Markos ’28, jazz runs deep in the Habesha community, the shared cultural identity of Ethiopians and Eritreans.
“The Habesha community has very rich jazz music, and it’s ingrained in our culture as a whole,” Markos said. “So we thought it would be a really nice idea to incorporate that into our community here at Yale.”
The collaboration began last year, when YEESA approached YUJC about partnering, according to Solomon Geleta ’28, a member of YUJC’s board who performed at the event. Geleta said his group knew right away they wanted to take part and that the first soiree, or evening party, was a “really big hit.”
“It’s great to be able to highlight Ethiopian and Eritrean jazz, especially considering jazz is Black American music,” Geleta said.
Geleta said part of the event’s appeal was the chance to spotlight a lesser-known branch of the genre’s history.
The two groups split the work. YEESA coordinated much of the “heavy lifting” behind the scenes, Geleta said, including booking the space and arranging food and drinks aligned with Ethiopian and Eritrean culture. YUJC helped promote the event and provided the music.
Markos said the biggest challenge in planning was finding a space because of the restrictions student groups face when reserving larger spaces on campus. She said she also wanted to ensure the music captured the essence of both Ethiopian and Eritrean jazz while still representing the broader Habesha culture.
“I liked how the night provided a space for students to show off their creative skills,” Fissha said, adding that the music was “authentic Ethiopian jazz” that reminded her of jazz clubs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city.
Some students’ families traveled from all over the country to attend the soiree. Markos said the most rewarding part for her was watching parents and other adults experience the event.
“They often are just so amazed how we’re so tapped into not just the dancing, but the roots of the culture, and what jazz music can do,” Markos said.
She added that working with YUJC is always a highlight.
Both organizers hope to grow the event, as Markos aims for a bigger venue and more outreach to the broader Yale community, beyond the Habesha students the event has mainly targeted so far.
Geleta suggested bringing in another affinity group or African student organization and expanding the size of the performance itself.
“Maybe a bigger band, even, because we’ve always done a smaller five-person combo,” he said. “The people who do come always have such a good time, so the more people we can reach would be amazing.”
YEESA also hosts a spring soiree, which Markos described as a counterpart to the fall event. It features less jazz and more songs tied to the Ethiopian and Eritrean New Year.
The Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective was founded in 2012.
