Tilaye Gebre was a central figure in Ethiopian music during the mid- to late 1970s, a period now hard to document but rich with talent. His saxophone and arrangements are likely featured on many recordings from Addis Ababa of that era. Despite Ethiopia’s limited formal musical institutions, Tilaye trained at the Haile Selassie First Theatre music school, where he began studying saxophone instead of guitar under mentor Ato Aymre Gemeda. This instrument became his lifelong expressive voice.
Tilaye…