Hailu Mergia's Kennedy Center gig was a long time coming

Good thing Hailu Mergia wasn't angling for a Kennedy Center gig when he made his debut solo album, "Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument." The booking eventually came, putting the Ethiopian-bred, Washington-based keyboardist on the venue's Millennium Stage on Tuesday night. But that took almost 30 years, a period during which Mergia stopped performing live and began to support himself by driving a Dulles Airport cab.