![]() “Ethiopian songs (are still) very precious for me from my childhood.” His lyrics are in English, Amharic, and occasionally Hebrew. “The music I compose, I try to write without boundaries,” he told the audience. On Saturday he sang songs that evoked hints of mournful blues, reggae rhythms, jazz tones and funky beats, still while retaining Ethiopian flare and characteristics such as melodies and chords based on minor pentatonic scales. As a young adult, he sang for seven years with a band, then launched his own band in 2017. After they settled in Israel, he began performing worldwide as a soloist with the Jerusalem Boys Choir. They were among Ethiopian Jews covertly evacuated under Operation Moses in 1984. He’s been singing soulful, healing music ever since escaping famine in Ethiopia with his family as a young boy. He had emerged on stage wearing a bright yellow and black checked jacket, then shed it not long after the first few songs. They jumped in sync as he leapt up and down and shook his hips and shoulders to the beat. Yalo, who has performed worldwide, seemed to tower above the dancing crowd. Come closer, I want to try something with you. ![]() ![]() A few songs later, he coaxed, “Clap your hands higher. Do you want to come to Ethiopia?” he asked the audience during the Cedar Cultural Center concert. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take you to Ethiopia. Photo: Courtesy of Gili YaloĮthiopian-Israeli singer Gili Yalo and his five-piece band Saturday got everyone on the dance floor hopping to music that blurs boundaries between blues, jazz, funk, reggae, and traditional Ethiopian. Photo: Courtesy of Gili Yalo Gili Yalo performed at The Cedar in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Gili Yalo performed at The Cedar in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 1, 2022. ![]()
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