Whoever says Mulatu also has to say Hailu. Alongside Mulatu Astatke, Hailu Mergia is one of the great innovators (and preservers) of Ethiopian music. He also brought Ethiopian musical traditions together with Western ideas of jazz. On August 21, 2024, he will once again be coming to Berlin, where he will sit down at the piano in the open air at Gretchen Yard, most likely still wearing a suit. We’ll see…

Never the same

When it comes to Hailu Mergia, you can actually leave all expectations and speculation to one side anyway. The composer, arranger, keyboardist and master accordionist likes to do things differently every time. So his performance should also be of interest to those who were able to experience him at the Gretchen two years ago.