Mulatu Astatke
Strut Mulatu Astatke : New York-Addis-London 1965-1975 (ETH,pub.2009)****°
I would like to mention this album too which will be featured in my radio show. After I had checked many of the albums on Buddha’s Ethiopian series a few original LP’s also saw some reissues after that, of which Mulatu Astatke’s black LP for me was one of the most rewarding and consistent releases of that kind. Just recenthe tly, Strut label decided to release a sort of best of compilation from his emerging career where he developed the ethio-jazz style, a mixture of Ethiopean music with jazz, funk, and because of the occasion at a certain point he could only find Caribbean artists to work with, some Latin influence now and then. This style was brought back to Ethiopia and flourished vividly for a certain period (which you could hear on the Buddha compilation series) before circumstances to develop this further were vanishing. Mulatu Astatke without doubt was one of the legends that lit the fuse and gave the right injection, an effect which still can be felt and is attractive for listeners worldwide up to today. The rest is history. Just enjoy !
PS. Mulatu is also famous with his vibraphone. Some tracks show these skills well.
