The late-career success of legendary Ethiopian musicians Mulatu Astatke and Hailu Mergia have brought new audiences to classic Ethio-jazz. The surge of attention has been aided by reissue labels that have made it their business to preserve decades-old recordings of snaking horn play, elegant vibraphones, and mesmeric grooves. But right in the Bay Area, you’ll find a contemporary artist in the same lineage, recording music with a rhythm and style that honors these righteous predecessors.
Singer and educator Meklit Hadero was born in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to an ethnic Kambaata father and Amhara mother. Journeying to America as a refugee, she settled in San Francisco during childhood, and since the late…