GREECE: Father of "Ethio-jazz" Mulatu Astatke performs to sell out crowd in Athens

Record ID: 711944

  • Title: GREECE: Father of "Ethio-jazz" Mulatu Astatke performs to sell out crowd in Athens
  • Date: 19th April 2010
  • Summary: MULATU ASTATKE PERFORMING WITH THE HELIOCENTRICS DURING THEIR LIVE CONCERT IN ATHENS WIDE VIEW OF LIVE PERFORMANCE ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Reuters ID: LVAAX3CFHWN4K4J94H1JVIOYTFEC
  • Story Text: Mulatu Astatke performs songs from his newly released album "Mulatu Steps Ahead" in a sold out performance in Athens.
    Mulatu Astatke is often called the "father of Ethio-Jazz", but his performance in Athens on Saturday (April 17) showed he is nowhere near finishing his career. With the release of a new album, "Mulate Steps Ahead", and a successful tour full of sold out concerts, Astatke says Ethio jazz has been a great achievement but he is not finished experimenting with his music.
    "In 'Steps Ahead' maybe if you listen like a piece called 'Ethio Blues' like I go through 3-4 different modes within one composition, which makes it like one more step ahead to our musical arrangements and compositions. So that 's why I called it 'Steps Ahead," he said during a rehearsal at the "Fuzz Club" in Athens.
    The latest album, on Strut Records, has had glowing reviews and is considered some of his best music.
    In Athens, he played to a packed room of boisterous fans - which the musician says surprises him at performances around the globe.
    "I saw so many youngsters who were shouting my name, jumping, it was all sold out tickets. It was so beautiful and I was so surprised how they were following up my music. Like many years back in New York of America you are a follower. Some were asking me when I was playing saxophone on this and that like some forty years ago, some young guys you know. And I said, well it 's always a beautiful to be among people who love music, who enjoy music. And to play for them it 's a great, a great, a big privilege," he said.
    During his long career, Astatke has played with many leading jazz players but when asked what is the most memorable moment in his career he praises the people of his homeland.
    "What really surprises me are the people in the bush. The people what we call "backwardish" people, they are scientists to me, which I have great love for them. Because they have created so interesting, so many interesting music and instruments, out of bamboo, out of anything," he said.
    Astatke once planned to be an engineer but when his talent was discovered he concentrated on music and studied in Britain, New York and Boston. He received a fellowship at Harvard where he gave talks on the origins of Ethiopian music and premiered his first opera, The Yared Opera, and was an advisor at MIT's Media Lab in Boston developing traditional Ethiopian instruments for the 21st century.
    He is also an advisor for African scholarships at Berkely College in Boston.
    Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch used his music for the soundtrack of the film "Broken Flowers" in 2005 and his collaboration with the UK jazz collective the Heliocentrics produced the album "Inspiration Information 3" which turned up in 2009 album hit lists.
    With endless energy at the age of 67, Astatke is now in the process of recording soundtracks for two films and wants to continue his project of upgrading Ethiopian musical instruments.
    "I really want to upgrade Ethiopian culture, musical instruments. So the final work of Ethio jazz will be by upgrading all our national musical instruments and make them be able to play European music, twelve tone music and to play Ethio jazz with our instruments. That will be the final stage of Ethio jazz," he said.
    Astatke is currently on a European tour with stops planned in Poland, Norway, Italy, France, Holland, Slovenia, Spain, Austria and England.
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