Date: 21 June 2011
An alto saxophone line snakes slowly over shimmering vibraphone and sensuous Latin percussion. Horns create a dreamy, exotic mood as Ethiopian modes meet Western scales.
A buzzing guitar or grooving organ might come in, bringing a touch of slow-burning psychedelia. This is the music of Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, who will be visiting Scotland for the first time as part of Glasgow Jazz Festival.
From the generation of musicians who thrived in Ethiopia’s Golden 70s, Astatke helped to bring jazz back to Africa, combining elements of his country’s traditional music with jazz, Latin music, funk and rock.
A military coup in 1974 brought an end to the vibrant era of ‘Swinging Addis’, with many musicians being forced into exile or retirement.
In recent years, Western audiences have rediscovered the music of Astatke, Getachew Mekuria, Tlahoun Gessesse, and others, through the fantastic Ethiopiques compilation series (begun by Paris-based record label Buda) and Jim Jarmusch’s film Broken Flowers.
But rather than revisit the past, Astatke has continued to push forward, recording albums with British future jazzers The Heliocentrics and US experimentalists Either/Orchestra, and writing an opera as part of a Harvard fellowship.
His latest release, Mulatu Steps Ahead (2010) might lack the funky lo-fi appeal of his classic 1970s sides, but it’s a gorgeous and inventive album, particularly in its incorporation of African instruments such as washint, krar, masenqo and kora into lush jazz arrangements reminiscent of Gil Evans or even Alice Coltrane.
An unmissable event for fans of African music, jazz or funk.
An alto saxophone line snakes slowly over shimmering vibraphone and sensuous Latin percussion. Horns create a dreamy, exotic mood as Ethiopian modes meet Western scales.
A buzzing guitar or grooving organ might come in, bringing a touch of slow-burning psychedelia. This is the music of Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, who will be visiting Scotland for the first time as part of Glasgow Jazz Festival.
From the generation of musicians who thrived in Ethiopia’s Golden 70s, Astatke helped to bring jazz back to Africa, combining elements of his country’s traditional music with jazz, Latin music, funk and rock.
A military coup in 1974 brought an end to the vibrant era of ‘Swinging Addis’, with many musicians being forced into exile or retirement.
In recent years, Western audiences have rediscovered the music of Astatke, Getachew Mekuria, Tlahoun Gessesse, and others, through the fantastic Ethiopiques compilation series (begun by Paris-based record label Buda) and Jim Jarmusch’s film Broken Flowers.
But rather than revisit the past, Astatke has continued to push forward, recording albums with British future jazzers The Heliocentrics and US experimentalists Either/Orchestra, and writing an opera as part of a Harvard fellowship.
His latest release, Mulatu Steps Ahead (2010) might lack the funky lo-fi appeal of his classic 1970s sides, but it’s a gorgeous and inventive album, particularly in its incorporation of African instruments such as washint, krar, masenqo and kora into lush jazz arrangements reminiscent of Gil Evans or even Alice Coltrane.
An unmissable event for fans of African music, jazz or funk.
Source: The List (Issue 682)
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