djbenjamin724th January 2010, Milan (Italy)
I have attended the concert held by the legendary Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke on last January in Milan; along with the innovative and eclectic Eithier\Orchestra and in collaboration with another Ethiopian musician Mahmoud Ahmed.
Although it was the first time ever in Italy, it has been simply enjoyful more than it was expected!
Quite the entire program was a sort of musical experiment, were the Ethiopian traditional songs were combined, arranged and modernized to a new level of fascinating jazz expression.
The Either/Orchestra founder and director Russ Gershon was a person full of sympathy. I was amazed to see such a multicultural background in an orchestra director like him.
This was the band composition:
Vibraphone & percussion player - Mulatu Astatke
Voice - Mahmoud Ahmed
Orchestra director, saxfone soprano & tenore - Russ Gershon
Trumpet - Tom Halter & Dan Rosenthal
Trombone - Joel Yennior
Saxfone contralto - Hailey Niswanger
Saxfone baritono - Charles Kohlhase
Piano & tastiere - Rafael Alcala
Double-bass/Contrabass - Rick McLaughlin
Drummer - Pablo Bencid
Congas & percussion player - Vicente Lebron
The day after has been a memorable morning for me, as I had the chance to talk & walk in Milan with Mulatu Astatke!
Mulatu Astatke is one of Ethiopia's all-time major musicians. An innovative multi-instrumentalist, composer, master arranger, bandleader and arranger mostly known as the “Ethio-Jazz” creator (a unique music concept result, by the combination of traditional Ethiopian music source wide-ranging modern jazz and Hispanic-Latino influences).
As a vibraphone, conga and percussion player, he has performed at numerous concerts in Ethiopia and abroad, including appearances at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Beethoven-Haus in Bonn and Barbican Center in London. Mulatu also performed as a guest artist with the Duke Ellington orchestra during its visit to Ethiopia in 1971.
Through the acclaimed 'Ethiopiques' series of albums (a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian and Eritrean singers and musicians laucnhed by the french producer Francis Falceto) and through featuring on the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film 'Broken Flowers', his music continues to attract new fans with its rich fusion of styles. In November of last year, he recorded an acclaimed new album with London psych jazz collective
The Heliocentrics for Strut's "Inspiration Information" studio collaboration series. Now, Strut are proud to present, for the first time anywhere, the definitive Mulatu career retrospective covering his landmark '60s and '70s recordings and a selection of rarities from the Amha, Phillips and Axum labels.
I personally consider Mulatu Astatke as an extraordinary music artist, who have dedicated his entire life in music letting so achieve Ethiopian music environment, a remarkable and international appetite.
Further information & news:
www.inspiration-information-3.com
http://either-orchestra.org/
www.mulatu-ethiojazz.com
http://ethiopiques.info
www.ethiojazz.com
www.myspace.com/mulatuastatke
www.myspace.com/heliocentrics
http://ethiopiques.info/ethiopiques-groups-on-myspace/
www.facebook.com/pages/Mulatu-Astatke/13275215667![]()
Mulatu AstatkeMulatu Astatke
I have attended the concert held by the legendary Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke on last January in Milan; along with the innovative and eclectic Eithier\Orchestra and in collaboration with another Ethiopian musician Mahmoud Ahmed.
Although it was the first time ever in Italy, it has been simply enjoyful more than it was expected!
Quite the entire program was a sort of musical experiment, were the Ethiopian traditional songs were combined, arranged and modernized to a new level of fascinating jazz expression.
The Either/Orchestra founder and director Russ Gershon was a person full of sympathy. I was amazed to see such a multicultural background in an orchestra director like him.
This was the band composition:
Vibraphone & percussion player - Mulatu Astatke
Voice - Mahmoud Ahmed
Orchestra director, saxfone soprano & tenore - Russ Gershon
Trumpet - Tom Halter & Dan Rosenthal
Trombone - Joel Yennior
Saxfone contralto - Hailey Niswanger
Saxfone baritono - Charles Kohlhase
Piano & tastiere - Rafael Alcala
Double-bass/Contrabass - Rick McLaughlin
Drummer - Pablo Bencid
Congas & percussion player - Vicente Lebron
The day after has been a memorable morning for me, as I had the chance to talk & walk in Milan with Mulatu Astatke!
Mulatu Astatke is one of Ethiopia's all-time major musicians. An innovative multi-instrumentalist, composer, master arranger, bandleader and arranger mostly known as the “Ethio-Jazz” creator (a unique music concept result, by the combination of traditional Ethiopian music source wide-ranging modern jazz and Hispanic-Latino influences).
As a vibraphone, conga and percussion player, he has performed at numerous concerts in Ethiopia and abroad, including appearances at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Beethoven-Haus in Bonn and Barbican Center in London. Mulatu also performed as a guest artist with the Duke Ellington orchestra during its visit to Ethiopia in 1971.
Through the acclaimed 'Ethiopiques' series of albums (a series of compact discs featuring Ethiopian and Eritrean singers and musicians laucnhed by the french producer Francis Falceto) and through featuring on the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film 'Broken Flowers', his music continues to attract new fans with its rich fusion of styles. In November of last year, he recorded an acclaimed new album with London psych jazz collective
The Heliocentrics for Strut's "Inspiration Information" studio collaboration series. Now, Strut are proud to present, for the first time anywhere, the definitive Mulatu career retrospective covering his landmark '60s and '70s recordings and a selection of rarities from the Amha, Phillips and Axum labels.
I personally consider Mulatu Astatke as an extraordinary music artist, who have dedicated his entire life in music letting so achieve Ethiopian music environment, a remarkable and international appetite.
Further information & news:
www.inspiration-information-3.com
http://either-orchestra.org/
www.mulatu-ethiojazz.com
http://ethiopiques.info
www.ethiojazz.com
www.myspace.com/mulatuastatke
www.myspace.com/heliocentrics
http://ethiopiques.info/ethiopiques-groups-on-myspace/
www.facebook.com/pages/Mulatu-Astatke/13275215667
