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Mulatu Astatke (Amharic: ሙላቱ አስታጥቄ), also written Astatqé on French releases, is a legendary and influential Ethiopian musician. In the 1960s, he studied music in London, Boston, and New York, returning to Ethiopia with a passion for jazz and Latin music. He created a unique musical hybrid known as "Ethio-jazz" by blending traditional Ethiopian music with Latin-jazz influences. Astatke is primarily a composer and a multi-instrumentalist, proficient in the vibraphone, keyboards, and organs. He is recognized for introducing congas and bongos into Ethiopian music, which were previously central to Latin styles. His significant contribution to Ethiopian music was shifting the focus from vocals to instrumentation. He recorded three LPs in New York City: Afro-Latin Soul Volumes 1 & 2 in 1966 and Mulatu of Ethiopia in 1972. Most of his work was released on Amha Records in Addis Ababa, including several 7” singles and the LP Yekatit Ethio-Jazz in 1974. Recently, Astatke has gained renewed attention in the West through the Ethiopiques compilation series and a 10” 4-track compilation from a label in Brighton, England. His music was featured in Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film Broken Flowers, starring Bill Murray and Julie Delpy. A project

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