Jorga Mesfin ★★★★
The Kindest One
MUZIKAWI. DL/LP
Wider release of Mulatu Astatke sax protégé’s 2007 solo debut.
A teenage regular at Mulatu Astatke’s African Jazz Village in Addis Ababa, Jorga Mesfin started making waves in the early ’00s as co-founder of Atlanta Ethio-jazz group Wudasse. Unafraid to tap into the artistry of prime Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed or Hailu Mergia, the sound of his debut, first issued as The Kind One, is largely his own. While his tender soprano only speaks at the death of Thanksgiving, adding long-held notes to its ebbing, flowing pianos, it cuts like snakes across grass on Tizita and the wraithlike title track as Teferi Assefa’s skittering percussion shifts like sand. Elsewhere, Longing lives up to its title and Indian classical themes pervade Ye Abay Gizo on a contemplative offering on par with his haunting score for Haile Gerima’s 2008 film Teza.