Hailu Mergia

Hailu Mergia, an inventive Ethiopian musician, has made significant contributions to the genres of funk, jazz, and traditional music through his work as a keyboardist, accordionist, and bandleader. He gained fame in the early 1970s as the frontman of the Walias Band, a prominent ensemble that became a staple in Addis Ababa's vibrant hotel scene. In the early 1980s, Mergia relocated to the United States amid political upheaval in Ethiopia, where he juggled a career as a taxi driver while creating a series of homemade solo recordings.

His music, which adeptly combined jazzy accordion melodies with analog synthesizers and electric piano, was largely overlooked until it caught the attention of Brian Shimkovitz from Awesome Tapes from Africa. This reissuing label helped revive Mergia's career in the 2010s, leading to a successful comeback that included the release of his 2018 album, *Lala Belu*, which climbed to the Top 20 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. His resurgence continued with the 2020 album *Yene Mircha*, and in 2021, the long-awaited reissue of *Tezeta*, his debut cassette from 1975 with the Walias Band, finally brought his early work to a new audience. Mergia's late-career achievements have established him as a vital figure in modern Ethiopian music, bridging the gap between traditional sounds and contemporary jazz influences.