‘Give respect to Africa and the bush people’: Mulatu Astatke on pioneering Ethio-jazz and honouring his roots

I feign recognition to the 82-year-old father of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu Astatke, who knows the UK capital’s vanished haunts better than I do (the Soho venue closed down decades ago). It was beautiful to see the packed audience appreciating Ethiopian jazz, he tells me. He “never expected this from an African”, the US jazz legend told Astatke, as the saxophone section played Ethio-jazz. The high respect he holds for them is palpable: “The bush people created Mulatu, because I became a musician by listening to the masenqo.” Mulatu Astatke’s album Mulatu Plays Mulatu is out now on Strut Records.