Music / ethiofunk
Review: Hailu Mergia/Daniel Inzani, Jam Jar
His face gives little away, but behind his enigmatic expression Hailu Mergia must surely have found it gratifying to be in a packed room receiving the enthusiastic appreciation of a young audience. After all, the Ethiopian musician had renounced performing in the late 90s, choosing instead to drive a taxi in the US. Happily, however, the Awesome Tapes From Africa label unearthed one of his classic recordings, re-released it and suddenly, after nearly two decades, he was back writing, playing and touring the world, recognised as a master of his craft.
Daniel Inzani’s band at the Jam Jar (photo: Tony Benjamin)
He’d got a good warm-up act at the Jam Jar: Daniel Inzani’s recently disbanded Tezeta (named after one of Hailu’s hits from the 70s) had mined the classic Ethio sound for several years. This new collective included Conrad Singh’s guitar and Pete Gibbs on bass, both from Tezeta, along with powerhouse drummer Matt Brown and a brace of wind players whose names I didn’t catch, sadly. They opened with some of the previous band’s repertoire, Daniel’s compositions distinctive in their complex rhythms somehow smoothed almost to the point of lift music. It was a tightly arranged sort of Ethio-ambient sound that washed you along, with sonorous harmonies from bass clarinet and baritone sax adding a North African texture. Newer numbers that finished off the set took more liberties with the genre, including a B52-recalling jumpy rock number complete with stinging guitar solo from Conrad. Do they have rock lobsters in the Horn of Africa, I wondered?
Alemseged Kebede (bass), Daniel Barnes (drums), Hailu Mergia (keyboards). (photo: Tony Benjamin)
After that lively warm-up things were definitely tingling with anticipation in the room. We were not to be disappointed, either. Hailu Mergia seemed to have magic at his fingertips, weaving sinuous keyboard melodies over the super tight rhythms of Daniel Barnes’ drumming and Alemseged Kebede’s electric bass. The latter was pivotal to the compelling groove of the music, playing the clear, loping basslines with absolute precision, somehow controlling the sound without claiming any attention. It was an essential ingredient that enabled Hailu’s fluid keyboard work to insinuate the rhythms without overstating them.
is needed now More than ever
Alemseged Kebede. (photo: Tony Benjamin)
It would be hard to find another accordionist who could have a roomful of eager listeners give him such rapt attention, but when he picked up the instrument it felt like here we were getting the real deal, somehow. For a while the Jam Jar could have been in the Addis Ababa Hilton sometime in the 70s, yet for all the retro-appeal of the music it felt really contemporary, an effortless fit with our times. It’s an alchemical thing, perhaps, that so simple a formula can be so rewarding to listen to – like dub, perhaps, with the subtlety of variation never derailing the structure of the music. However he does it there’s clearly something in that magic that Hailu Mergia found some fifty years ago and it still sparkles like new.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
