Mulatu Astatke

Strut present the first official reissue of a landmark album in the field of African music, Mulatu Astatke’s Mulatu Of Ethiopia from 1972. Recorded in New York, the album arrived at a time when Astatke had begun to master the delicate fusion of styles needed to create Ethio jazz.

The resultant album represented the first fully formed document of Astatke’s trademark Ethio jazz sound. It features Kulunmanqueleshi, Dewel, and Kasalefku-Hulu, tracks that Mulatu would return to regularly on singles and in live shows, the Ethio-Latin workout Chifara and the self-titled groover Mulatu (“I wanted tomake a track for... myself!”)

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Mulatu
• A2. Mascaram Setaba
• A3. Dewel

• SIDE B
• B1. Kulunmanqueleshi
• B2. Kasalefkut-Hulu
• B3. Munaye
• B4 Chifara