By Jeff Weiss in weiss Wednesday, Apr. 8 2009 LAWeekly
Rivaling Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau, and a handful of others, Mulatu Astatke ranks among the most influential African musicians of all-time.
The father of Ethio-Jazz, the Berklee-trained Mulatu was the first of his countryman to fuse American jazz and funk, with native folk and [...]

by Staff | 03.02.2009 Source: Filter-Mag.com
Part 1
We may have indie film master Jim Jarmusch to thank for placing Mulatu Astatke in many music libraries, courtesy of the soundtrack to Jarmusch’s 2005 Bill Murray vehicle, Broken Flowers. But Astatke, the father of Ethio Jazz, made history long before the film was released. Astatke, born in Jimma, Ethiopia, is known for combining jazz [...]

For Immediate Release: Sept. 8, 2008
Contact:
Lynn Heinemann
MIT Office of the Arts
77 Massachusetts Ave, Rm E15-205
Cambridge, MA 02139
e-mail heine@media.mit.edu
(617) 253-5351

Cambridge, MA… Seminal Ethiopian jazz artist Mulatu Astatke will be an Abramowitz Artist-in-Residence from October 10-24 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will present a public talk and conversation titled, “Ethiopian Contributions to the Development of World Music [...]

By Corydon Ireland | Harvard News Office | March 6, 2008
It’s not easy to be a musician in most of the Third World, said legendary Ethiopian composer and musician Mulatu Astatke, who is a 2007-08 Radcliffe Fellow. Music is not typically taught in elementary schools, and in later life, opportunities for musicians are limited by [...]

Mulatu Astatke
I’m not seeing the Jim Jarmusch film until tonight, but acting on a tip from a friend with great taste, I bought the soundtrack yesterday. Talk about ‘heavy rotation’ — I’m already in danger of wearing this CD out. And all because of an aging Ethiopian musician I’d never heard of!
Bear with me on this, [...]