The name Tilaye Gebre will be familiar to dedicated connoisseurs of the golden years of Ethiopian music. His tender, soulful tone graced numerous classic recordings by leading figures such as Mahmoud Ahmed, Muluken Melesse, Hirut Bekele and Hailu Mergia.
The music on Wede Harer Guzo, Gebre’s first album under his own name, recalls Mergia’s record of the same title – not only because both were recorded with the Dahlak Band, of which Gebre was a member. Dawit Yifru’s organ carries a similarly yearning timbre to Mergia’s, and the luxuriant arrangements likewise attest to the ensemble’s class. As bandleader, however, Gebre explores additional facets, at times moving slightly beyond what has come to define Ethio-Jazz in its classic form.
»Feqresh yemench weha« moves with a blues-inflected groove through the night; »Ts’igērēda« swings along with light-footed ease; »Tizi ālegni yet’initu« could easily serve as the title theme to a series – poised between near-triumphant riffs and more elegiac interludes – were it not for the fact that, like most pieces on this album, it allows itself ample time to dwell on its moods. Gebre’s saxophone remains at the centre, yet consistently leaves space for his fellow musicians’ improvisations. A monument.
