Mulatu Astatke

Über Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Astatke is the father of Ethio-jazz, the vibraphonist and composer who single-handedly invented a genre. Trained in London and New York, he returned to Addis Ababa and fused the five-note Ethiopian scales with jazz harmony, Latin percussion, and funk, creating a smoky, unmistakable sound. Rediscovered by a new generation through the Éthiopiques series and Jim Jarmusch's film Broken Flowers, he became a revered global figure who still tours and records into his eighties.