Tezeta

The Walias Band are a legendary group. On the frontline of the uniquely Ethiopian brand of jazz and soul during the Swinging Addis period of the 60s and 70s and as the backing band for pretty much all of the star vocalists of the time, Walias were very much the sound of the city. The group’s first ‘solo’ album (without a guest singer) didn’t come until 1975 and has long been considered a lost treasure among collectors. After a rare copy was tracked down in the Netherlands, a neat remaster makes Tezeta the sixth album (fourth reissue) in the ongoing relationship between Awesome Tapes from Africa and Walias’ bandleader Hailu Mergia.

Tezeta consists of instrumental covers of some of the era’s most popular songs – as well as traditional songs like the title-track – all led by Mergia’s shimmering electric organ. The music is vintage, warm and nostalgia-filled, perfectly suiting the tape hiss that even the most diligent remastering couldn’t hope to remove. The Walias Band’s pleasantly calm pop and light funk has perhaps been overshadowed by the meaner, meatier developments of subsequent Ethio-jazz, but this album stands as testament to a band that created the defining sound of Ethiopian music’s most revered period.