Mulatu astatke sketches of ethiopia rar series#
Instead, he invented a musical genre and became the central figure in an enormously successful series of anthologies that dug deep into the origins of a fascinating but long-hidden world. The first to realise that its distinctive indigenous modes and textures could be blended with those of American jazz was Mulatu Astatke, the composer and bandleader whose early recordings began to attract a cult following 15 years ago, after being unearthed and reissued by an enthusiastic Frenchman.Īstatke, whose appearance in London on 13 September will be a highlight of the Southbank Centre's Africa Utopia festival, was supposed to devote his life to aeronautical engineering. Its roots lie deep within the musical culture of a country that, with the exception of a brief period under Italian occupation between 1936 and 1941, has enjoyed 3,000 years of independence. As an evolving form, however, it demonstrates greater resilience. How could something so special, so original, survive the embrace of people so devoted to superficiality, so quick to move on to the next sensation?Īs a fashionable novelty, Ethiopian jazz may indeed have had its moment in the spotlight. 'Everybody knows that Ethiopian jazz is the only kind worth listening to these days," a bored Roman socialite remarks during one of the many party scenes in Paolo Sorrentino's film The Great Beauty.
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