Hailu Mergia: “Tizita”

A live album, so brace yourself for some stage banter. Hey, that’s not a bad thing. Frampton Comes Alive! sold like gangbusters. The master accordionist and Ethiopian jazz legend Hailu Mergia, who now calls Washington DC ‘home,’ shoots his shot on this live recording from somewhere in Brooklyn during 2016. Oh yeah, Pioneer Works. How can that sound we hear on our highlighted track “Tizita” be from an accordion? He plays that wheezebox like hot butter running through the metal tines of a crab-filled fork. Have a bite. Off the full-length live album Pioneer Works Swing. Available via Awesome Tapes From Africa.

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