Talking about a comeback! As leader of the Walias Band back in the 1970s the Ethiopian keyboard player Hailu Mergia was one of the great folk heroes of his country. But after moving to Washington D.C. in the 1980s, he worked as a taxi driver and only got to make music on a keyboard between jobs. Fortunately, the Awesome Tapes from Africa label rediscovered his old recordings a few years back, and since then the 72-year-old jazz musician has been making an impressive comeback all over the world!

Flagey

Hailu Mergia

In the context of

Opening Month