Wed 7 November 2018 | 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Zappa Tel Aviv - Raul Wallenberg 24, Tel Aviv, 149 NIS

The pioneer of the Eti-jazz-punk and one of the greatest Ethiopian musicians, arrives at the Zappa Club in Tel Aviv with a superb trio.

Hailu Lulessa Mergia – electric piano, organ, melodica, accordion, vocals
Alemseged Kebede-Anissa – electric bass
Kenneth Courtney Joseph – drums

Hilo Margia, 72, the pioneer of Ethiopian Synthesizers, has accumulated great reputation in Ethiopia and abroad for three decades of activity (60-70-80). His influence on the development of the eti-jazz / punk was tremendous, and was due in part to Margia’s ability to provide an innovative musical interpretation of popular Ethiopian songs and melodies.
In most of the years of its activity, Margia’s materials were distributed mainly locally and did not come out of Africa, but a few years ago his sound finally penetrated the Western audience as well – some of his works were reissued through the wonderful label Awesome Tapes From Africa.

After a few successful years in which he performed on the world’s most prestigious stages, Margia released his first new album in 15 years, Lala Belu.
The album Lala Belu has matured for a long time, and is based entirely on Marija’s amazing career in recent years. His great comeback began in 2013 with the re-release of the dream album Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument. This was followed by the re-enactment of the acclaimed masterpiece Tche Belew, and the re-release of the critically acclaimed Wede Harer Guzo, all of which gave Marja a lot of praise from listeners and the world press, including the New York Times, the Pitchfork music magazines And The Wire.

Marja’s old recordings are an inalienable asset of Ethiopian music and an exciting discovery for Ethiopian music lovers around the world. However, his renewed activity and electrifying return to the stage are very inspiring.

Hilo Margia was born in a village in northern Ethiopia. He began playing accordion and piano in the military orchestra at the age of 14 and then began touring the country and performing. He also played with Walias (alongside Molto Astetka and Mahmoud Ahmad) and worked as a composer and arranger for successful Ethiopian musicians. At the same time, he worked on his solo albums. In the early 1980s, during a column in the United States, he decided to emigrate from Ethiopia and built his life in Washington DC.

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