If you know anything about Mulatu Astatqé, you know that he is a central figure in Ethio-jazz, which is, as one would expect, an Ethiopian form of jazz. But that isn't really that accurate. While there may be some sort of structure or other technical reasons why his music is referred to as any kind of jazz maybe because of his musical education or the sort off folks he rubbed elbows with (like Duke Ellington), make no mistake, his music is nothing like Miles Davis or John Coltrane or any other Western jazz musician. It's weird, though not unsettling. It's other worldly. Hell, it's Ethiopian, that's enough to make it interesting.
If you dig the samples below, you ought to pick up the Éthiopiques compilation of his stuff. The full title is Éthiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969–1974. You'll need it. Should a record store stock it (not likely), you might pass right by it because little of the text on the cover is in English. But it's worth checking out, His music is not really anything that has a reference point, in fact other Ethio-jazz releases are more often described with references to his music. In other words, what Chuck Berry is to rock 'n' roll, Astatqé is to Ethio-jazz. He's the portal.
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Listen:
Mulatu Astatqé - Yekermo Sew mp3 at Oh Color Me In
Mulatu Astatqé - Yegelle Tezeta mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Mulatu Astatqé – Éthiopiques 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974 (Full Album) (streaming) at YouTube
