Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father and pioneer of Ethio-jazz music. It has taken Astatke over forty years to start to attain the recognition he deserves. Born in 1943 in Jimma, Ethiopia, he came over to North Wales at the age of 16 to continue his further education, focusing initially on the sciences. Music quickly caught his attention, and he was encouraged to pursue it by one of his teachers. “I tried trumpet, I tried clarinet, keyboard – I was playing everything there,” he recalls. “After I finished school, I went to Trinity College in London. I started playing different clubs. I used to hang out with Tubby Hayes, Frank Holder, Joe Harriot, and Ronnie Scott. It was a beautiful time.”