Mulatu Astatke at Selam Festival

Another day at Selam Festival, another great artists to bolster the ranks of musicians participating in the festival. This time the one and only Mulatu Astatke shall bless Stockholm with exotic Ethiopian jazz.

Mulatu Astatke is undoubtedly the most important and well-known proponent of Ethio-jazz – a branch of jazz that incorporates elements of traditional Ethiopian music. He is one of the great musical innovators and composers of our time and has long been regarded as the father of Ethio-jazz.

In his twenties, Mulatu Astatke travelled from his native Ethiopia to Wales with the aim of training as an engineer. But he soon changed both subject and continent, studying music in London and New York instead and becoming the first African artist to graduate from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Astatke laid the foundation for his unique sound by crossing Western harmony with the scales of Ethiopian musical tradition. When he moved to New York, he further developed his musical expression by drawing inspiration from jazz and Latin American rhythms. In the late 1960s, Astatke recorded three albums in the United States with Puerto Rican musicians, records that are now widely sampled and highly sought after by vinyl collectors.

He returned to Addis Ababa with a unique knowledge of American jazz, which resulted not only in a series of now legendary solo albums, but also in a music scene in Ethiopia that was completely new at the time. Based on Mulatu as an iconic figure, a musical meeting of Western funk and jazz with East African melodies was created in the early 1970s – and Ethio-jazz was born.

Mulatu Astatke now tours his Ethio-jazz all over the world to packed concert halls. On 7 November he makes a long-awaited return visit to Konserthuset Stockholm during the Selam Festival Stockholm.

Lineup:
Mulatu Astatke: vibraphone/wurlitzer-piano/percussion
James Arben: saxophone/flute/bass clarinet
Byron Wallen: Trumpet
Daniel Keane: Cello
Liam Noble: Piano/keyboard
John Edwards: Double bass
Jon Scott: Drums
Richard Olatunde Baker: Percussion

In collaboration with Konserthuset Stockholm.

Place: Konserthuset, Hötorget, Stockholm
Price: 390 SEK
Date: 07. 11. 2022
Time: 19:00

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