The multi-instrumentalist faced resistance when he premiered his sound in the 60s but audiences have fallen in love with it since. Now aged 82, he’s still finding new directions – and wants ...

The overthrow of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 led to violent conflict that had a particularly heavy impact on musicians. Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the Making of the ...

Most of us don’t think of music as a science. Mulatu Astatke, the Ethiopian vibraphonist who created the style known as “Ethio-jazz,” says he’s never thought of his invention as anything else. “I’ve ...

What makes an artist great? The answer to this question might be tough but one thing is clear. An artist achieves greatens at least by creating something that has not been created before him and keeps ...

If only one name comes to mind when you think of Ethio-jazz, it’s almost certainly that of Mulatu Astatke. A vibraphone and percussion virtuoso, Mulatu has also been prolific on the keys, releasing ...

Ethio-jazz was the thrilling sound of 1960s and ’70s Ethiopia, blending traditional music with funk and soul before a dictatorship killed off the genre. Now, it's making a comeback. Ethiopia’s jazzmen ...

I once read the artist Dan Clowes describe Chopin’s Nocturnes as “like listening to ice water”. That description has often resonated with regards to the sound of a solo piano, but never more so than ...

During the second half of the 20th century, cosmopolitan Ethiopians were delighted to see jazz giant Duke Ellington receive their country’s Medal of Honor from Emperor Haile Selassie. At the same time ...

Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist and musician Mulatu Astatke founded a new genre of music, Ethio-jazz. In 1966 he recorded this original sound with his band The Ethiopian Quintet. Show more For more ...