With his first album in 10 years, Mulatu Plays Mulatu, recorded in both London and Addis Ababa, 81 year-old Mulatu Astatke, native of Jimma, Ethiopia and father of Ethio jazz, reimagines a portion of his vast catalog, bringing his original cocktail of Latin jazz, funk and Afrobeat to fans around the globe.
I caught Astatke on a good day. He smiles easily but is earnest about his life’s purpose: getting African musicians the respect and acknowledgment they deserve.
“The whole idea is to introduce Ethiopian music to the world,” he says of Mulatu Plays Mulatu, released last September. “I created this science called Ethio jazz, which had so much to do with introducing Ethiopia. But now, more than that, I’m working on how to introduce the contribution of Africa culturally to the world. I think the world should know more. The world should do a lot of research about those people and their contributions, and especially all these musical instruments that they created.”
From the masenqo (a single-stringed bowed lute similar to the cello) to the zummara (a double clarinet), African instruments have played a pivotal role in shaping modern music, laying the foundation for jazz, blues and gospel music. Hip-hop artists like Nas, Kanye West, Cut Chemist and Madlib have sampled Astaktke’s music, further illustrating his immense reach.
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