T'som Dexter Story

• 1 Eulogy For El Din 03:12
• 2 Ermias 03:36
• 3 Mama 03:40
• 4 Fiat 03:15
• 5 The Tigre Song 03:17
• 6 March of the Ascaris 03:05
• 7 Semayawi (I am the Sky) 02:58
• 8 Sawm 02:06
• 9 Beh Jeh Xi (Be My Baby) 03:29
• 10 Ethiopianism 04:40
• Total Runtime 33:18

Info for T'som

Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T’som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning “fasting” in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.

Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Niño, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa. Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city’s vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Niño, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Cut Chemist.

His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke’s acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today’s most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators.

Dexter Story, various instruments, shouts and field recordings
Alan Lightner, additional kebero
Carlos Niño, percussion
Gebre Woldegebriel, tigrinya end vocal
Kaleab Senai, chira wata, vocals
Surya Botofasina, keyboards
Kamasi Washington, tenor saxophone
Mohammed “Moe” Saleh, arabic vocals
Sudan Archives, vocals, violin
Kibrom Birhane, vocals, synthesizer, amharic vocal, kirar
Yusra Mohammedsalh, vocals
Luwam Thomas, vocals, keyboards
Mocky, piano, drums, percussion, additional bass
Dereje Zemedu, kebero drums
Jimetta Rose, adlib lead vocals, choir direction
Voices of Creation (Choir)
Nicole Mitchell, flute
Fanny Franklin, background vocals
Rahel Lulseged, cello
Randal Fisher, tenor saxophone, flute
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, viola, violin, efx
Yusra Mohammedsaleh, vocals

Produced by Dexter Story and Carlos Niño
Additional Production by Dominic “Mocky” Salole (on tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8)
Mixed by Dexter Story and Ken Barrientos

Dr. Dexter Story
is a musician, composer, music producer, and Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His scholarship explores musical innovation in the Horn of Africa, focusing on how indigenous practices and modern technologies intersect as forms of postcolonial reclamation — sustaining communities and freedom movements. His manuscript in progress, Sound and Struggle, expands on his dissertation on Tigrinya guayla music, investigating the convergence of sound, dance, and identity in Eritrea and across the Afro-diaspora. Dexter is also named after the legendary jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon and he is a student of global jazz traditions, innovations and ethnographies.

This album contains no booklet.