State control of the music business was weakening and a handful of enthusiasts were setting up independent labels which the expiring regime lacked the energy to close down. He returned to Ethiopia towards the end of the decade, in the dog days of Haile Selassie's imperial rule. The material is largely through-written and the emphasis is on the ensemble, as always with Astatke: composer/arrangers Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were prominent among his formative jazz influences.īorn in 1943, Astatke studied in Britain and the US in the 1960s.
Elsewhere the album reflects Step Ahead's up-tempo, dance-friendly live approach. That vibe is revisited on two tracks: "Gumuz," a traditional melody given a laid back, West Coast jazz-funk arrangement, and Astatke's "Motherland Abay," a showcase for the Ethiopian instruments. The album, a mix of originals and arrangements of traditional Ethiopian tunes, is generally hotter and more urgent than you would expect from Astatke's classic early 1970s recordings. In addition, there are half a dozen guest musicians, who include rising Malian vocalist Fatoumata Diawara, who sings on the final track. Step Ahead's 12-piece line-up also includes players of traditional Ethiopian instruments including the masinko (one-string lute), krar (lyre) and washint (bamboo flute). It has been a long time coming and it is a corker.Īstatke, on vibraphone and keyboards, is accompanied by his regular touring band, Step Ahead, which has at its core A-list British jazz musicians-among them, trumpeter Byron Wallen, drummer Tom Skinner, bassist John Edwards and reed player James Arden. Sketches of Ethiopia is, extraordinarily, the first album Mulatu Astatke, the godfather of Ethio-jazz, has recorded with his own band for an international label of influence.