Mulatu Astatke/The father of Ethio-Jazz comes to Berlin and we have tickets for you!

by | indieBerlin

A young Mulatu is sent to Wales to study engineering but he decided music was his thing. That’s when what is known as Ethio-Jazz was born.

An honorary doctor from the Berklee College of Music is coming to Berlin once again with his Latin-ethnic grooves to make us move. Mulatu Astatke is now 75, and although for most part of his career he remained somewhat unknown, he is a gem that still shines for our delight.

 

An arranger that has in his career performed with Duke Ellington; a composer the has been in Jim Jarmusch’s movies and a percussionist that has been sampled by Nas, Cut Chemist, Kanye West and Madlib is performing this 1st of April in Astra Kulturhaus.

His music is Afro Funk, Latin jazz, Afro-Latin Soul, Ethio-Jazz and much more. A music that has lived for so long in his being that is home to him, to see him perform is an experience people shouldn’t miss, he is a movement himself.

The first album of his career saw the light around 1966, Afro-Latin Soul Vol 1 & 2, and it was a statement.
The influence of genres within Salsa music (which was yet to reach its peak in 1972) like Cha Cha Cha, Son Cubano, Mambo and Boogaloo are clear and it feels that his choice for this particular sound was the resemblance it has with his native Ethiopian music. Let’s not forget how African rhythms are the backbone of Salsa Music, which was developed in the United States by Latin immigrants and other minorities.

Mulatu Astatke is a name that is in every Jazz history Book. He is a full chapter in the Latin-Jazz history and a prophet in Ethic-Jazz sacred texts.

Want to see him live? Send an email to win(at)indieberlin.de for your chance to win a pair of free tickets!

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