Timeless

On February 1, 2009, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke teamed up with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz scene to put on a rare concert, titled Timeless, at the Luckmann Theatre in Los Angeles. For those that couldn't make it to the sold out show, Mochilla Records has released a live record and DVD to commemorate the very special event. During the performance Astatke performed many of his classic tracks including Yekermo Sew, I Faram Gami, Yegelle Tezeta, and Kasaléfkut Hulu. Each track is backed by some incredible instrumentation from a solid cast of musicians and maintains a high level of energy throughout the entire performance, shedding new light on some of Astatke's most notable compositions. I find that live recordings can often fall short of capturing the same kind of energy that existed during the actual performance, Timeless however feeds off of the performance's energy and gives the listener a true taste of what turned out to be a legendary performance. Enjoy!

Mulatu Astatke - Kasaléfkut Hulu (Live Performance From Timeless)

Afro-Latin Soul Power

I'm very much in a laid back mood today, therefore I thought I would post Mulatu Astatke & His Ethiopian Quintet's Ethio-jazz gem "Soul Power". This funky classic was originally released on Astatke's 1966 album Afro-Latin Soul Vol. 2. For those who might not be familiar, Mulatu Astatke is as important to the history of Ethio-jazz as Fela Kuti is to Afrobeat, defining the genre from it's inception (Also See The Story of Ethio Jazz). On "Soul Power", we find another great example of Astatke's signature sound, blending together traditional Ethiopian music with Latin-jazz. Simply put, just another classic composition from one of the genre's most influential and legendary musicians. Enjoy!

Mulatu Astatke & His Ethiopian Quintet - Soul Power

Mulatu Steps Ahead

One of last year's best releases was Strut's release of retrospective works by Ethio jazz legend Mulatu Astatke titled "New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975". I featured this amazing record in a post at the beginning of the new year (Read the Blog Post The Story of Ethio Jazz). Mulatu and the Strut label are back at it again in 2010, this time with the first solo record from the artist in over 20 years, titled Mulatu Steps Ahead. For the record, Mulatu did release a collaborative with The Heliocentrics as part of Strut's Inspiration Information series. On Mulatu Steps Ahead however, the father of Ethio jazz returns with a solid new effort that sounds like it could have been released around Mulatu's recording prime during the early to mid seventies. Mulatu combines some new songs like "Green Africa", "Radcliffe", "The Way To Nice", and "Assosa" with some new renditions of Mulatu classics including "Boogaloo" and "I Faram Gami I Faram". Overall, Mulatu Steps Ahead is a solid new record that I highly recommend checking out, especially if you have enjoyed the legendary artist's earlier releases from the late sixties and early to mid seventies. The only thing I can hope for now is a new batch of tour dates that take him to the west coast. Until then, I will be satisfied enjoying his new masterpiece.

Mulatu Astatke - Green Africa



Mulat Astatke's new album Mulatu Steps Ahead comes out March 30. Learn More about the record at www.mulatu-steps-ahead.com/.

The Story of Ethio Jazz

Strut's recent release of Mulatu Astatke's collection of retrospective works, titled New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975, can hardly be considered disco, however I feel the amazing album has a rightful place on this site. This greatest hits-like release sheds light on one of African music's greatest artist. Astatke is pretty much the pioneer of Ethio jazz, which I find is very funky, with a blend of traditional Ethiopian melodies mixed nicely with the free-form improvisational elements of Western jazz. An interesting and fascinating fact about Astatke is he became the first African student to attend Harvard, which during time he also lived and recorded in New York. When I first picked up this record I really wasn't that familiar with Asatke or Ethio jazz. However, after just one listen, I was pretty much blown away and knew that this album would amount out to be one of the best releases of 2009. I couldn't also help to hear all the potential sampling material this record and Astatke's music, in general, could provide for some future amazing disco cuts. Overall, I continue to enjoy this record more and more, with each and every listen. For those maybe a bit on the fence, I highly recommend snatching up a copy while they still last.

Mulatu Astatke - I Faram Gami I Faram