Bleep

Aside from Hailu Mergia, how many artists can you name who are making some of their most celebrated and beloved work when they are well into their 70s? Along with a band based around bassist Alemseged Kebede and drummer Ken Joseph, legendary accordion/keys player Mergia delivers yet another record of Ethio-jazz inventions in the form of Yene Mircha. 2018’s Lala Belu saw Mergia cross pollinating the sounds of Addis Abada with American jazz forms, and Yene Mircha journeys still-further down that road. The result is a very impressive and addictive rolling, rhythmic set.