| Format: | LP |
| Availability: | PRE-ORDER |
Gatefold sleeve.
Tilaye Gebre is one of Ethiopia’s most soulful saxophone giants, with a musical legacy that’s hard to surpass. A founding member of the Equators, later renamed the Dahlak Band, he was a key figure in Ethiopia’s vibrant hotel music scene and a sought-after musician and arranger for artists like Aster Aweke, Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilahun Gessesse, and Muluken Melesse.
In the quiet storm of Ethiopian music in the mid- to late-1970s, Tilaye Gebre was something of the eye at the center. Even though much of the music from that period has been ridiculously hard to excavate from history, chances are that if you pick up any gem recorded in Addis Ababa during those times, it features Tilaye on saxophone and his arrangements.
In Africa’s second most populous country, having such a tight-knit musical scene surrounding the recording industry, it seems as if the movers and shakers were largely in each other’s phone books. Given the wealth of Ethiopian musical treasures unearthed in the last few decades, it’s easy to imagine Ethiopia as a society littered with musical institutions, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, only a select few talented musicians were given the opportunity to study music full-time. One institution that stood out, however, was the Haile Selassie First Theatre (Ethiopian National Theatre) in Addis Ababa, where Tilaye was one of 120 pupils attending. A feature on national radio mentioned the new music school being inaugurated, and Tilaye — in fifth grade — jumped at the idea of choosing music as his vocation.
A founding member of the renowned Equators, and later the Dahlak Band, Tilaye was also a central figure in Ethiopia’s vibrant hotel music scene, where creativity and innovation flourished. He later joined the legendary Walias Band, with whom he toured extensively across the United States. It was during one of these tours that Tilaye made the pivotal decision to remain in the U.S. and further develop his musical craft. His artistry has since taken him around the world, with performances in major cities across Europe, Canada, and the Virgin Islands. Along the way, he has collaborated with some of the greatest Ethiopian vocalists of all time — including Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke, Muluken Melesse, and others — bringing the sound of Ethiopia to global audiences. Notably, with the legendary Mahmoud Ahmed, Tilaye graced iconic
