Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu was the first Ethiopian jazz music-maker to study abroad and thus be exposed to Western musical trends. When he returned to Addis Ababa he pursued his dream of drawing on the musical heritage of his homeland a heritage that has been buffeted by Ethiopia s turbulent history to produce a unique, compelling blend of music: Ethiopian sounds with a twist . In the late 1960 s, his Ethio jazz introduced, among other new ideas, the Afro-Latin soul where he played conga, piano, vibraphone and innovative musical arrangements. These included compositions of popular Ethio jazz music which took on a modern, funk, jazz-infused quality that soon had recording companies knocking at his door.