Mulatu Astatke Presented by Ronnie Scott's

This is a Ronnie Scott's presents... night at Jazz Cafe, Camden (Not at Ronnie Scott's).

The father of Ethio-Jazz Mulatu Astatke blesses us with two rare and intimate club dates with his all-star band. Book early.

Not many musicians can claim to have invented a genre, but Astatke is one of them. With touches of funky wah-wah synths, rolling saxophones, ethereal flutes, and the relentless drive of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Astatke’s unique tracks reflect what Ethio-Jazz was designed to do – get feet moving and bodies grooving.

Astatke’s sound flourished during the ‘Swinging Addis’ era of the late 1960s when he successfully fused Western Jazz and Funk with traditional Ethiopian folk melodies, five-tone scale arrangements and the influence of ancient Ethiopian Orthodox church music.

Hip hop artists have also sampled Astatke’s songs extensively, for example in the works of Nas, Damian Marley, Kanye West, Cut Chemist, and Knaan.

In a career that has spanned five decades and numerous triumphant appearances here, he remains as relevant and inspirational today as he did in his formative years.

“He weaves his highly individual magic in an infectious and mysterious style” BBC music