Chance Meeting
Friday December 19th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Mulatu Astatke ሙላቱ አስታጥቄ

Chance meeting on a vibraphone of Yèkèrmo Sèw (a man of experience and wisdom) Happy 82nd birthday to Mulatu Astatke! The Ethiopian percussionist, composer and arranger, is noted as the founder of Ethio-jazz. Astatke released his first album almost 60 years ago - in 1966 - and is going strong in 2025. Mulatu is also noted as one of my most respected and listened to artists over the past 25 years since his music has been made available. Hailing from the western Ethiopian city of Jimma, a young Astatke was sent by his family to study engineering at Lindisfarne College in Wales in the 1950s. He graduated with a degree in music, later studying at the Trinity College of Music in London, UK. In the 1960s the percussionist moved to Boston and studied vibraphone and percussion at the Berklee College of Music, where he explored his interest in Latin jazz. After moving to New York City, Astatke released a pair of albums “Afro-Latin Soul, Volumes 1 & 2” in 1966. The albums featured mainly instrumental songs and were credited for establishing bongo and conga drums as standards in Ethiopian popular music. In 1972 the composer released "Mulatu of Ethiopia”, introducing the sound now known as Ethio-jazz. Around this time the percussionist collaborated with revered artists Mahmoud Ahmed and Duke Ellington, which represented the golden age of instrumentation and rhythm in Ethiopia’s pop and jazz circles. Following the Derg military junta in 1974, the majority of record labels in Ethiopia were forced to flee, including Amha, which released the bulk of Astatke's music in the country. The Dergue or Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), overthrew the government of the Ethiopian Empire, murdered Emperor Haile Selassie, then ruled Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea from 1974 until it fell in 1991. Astatke kept a relatively low profile during the 1980s and 1990s, with his music only found in certain underground circles. The story could have ended there. The Éthiopiques series of CDs on French label Buda (1997-2000s) made Mulatu's Amha recordings available to the West for the first time. These 30 CDs of the Golden Age of Ethiopian music are a revelation and recommended as a starting point. This was my gateway Ethio-drug. Astatke received resurgence in the 2000s among western audiences, thanks to his music being featured in the 2005 Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers. He was later sampled by the likes of Nas, Damian Marley, Kanye West and Cut Chemist. In 2004 Astatke collaborated with Either/Orchestra, subsequently making appearances in Scandinavia, London, New York, Canada and Germany. He later worked with the London-based collective The Heliocentrics, which featured re-workings of his classic Ethio-jazz material as well as new productions. Astatke has been remarkably active since the rediscovery of Ethiopian music over the past 25 years. He plays ~20 live shows a year, though is retiring from touring. Mulatu is slated to perform at the "We Out Here" festival, curated by Gilles Peterson, in August 2026. Anyone wanna go!? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulatu_Astatke https://www.discogs.com/artist/286112-Mulatu-Astatke https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Empire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derg https://mulatuastatke.bandcamp.com/ https://ethiopiquesseries.bandcamp.com/ https://thequietus.com/interviews/strange-world-of/mulatu-astatke-best-music/ https://www.jazzwise.com/review/article/mulatu-astatke-brings-ethio-jazz-to-here-at-outernet https://www.thefader.com/2025/09/30/mulatu-astatke-new-album-ethio-jazz-interview (to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")