Mulatu Astatke - Steps Ahead

REVIEWS

BBC
He weaves his highly individual magic in an infectious and mysterious style.On the back of his highly acclaimed 2009 collaboration with London-based astral funk group The Heliocentrics – album of the year in Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards – Ethiopian jazz-fusion maestro Mulatu Astatke was lured back into the studio for his first album in his own right for two decades.

Pitchfork
Anyone who’s liked his music in the past is very likely to enjoy this, but I think Mulatu Steps Ahead will broaden Astatke’s jazz following as well, and frankly, it’s a much more coherent record than a lot of heavily improvisational modern jazz albums.

Contact Music
When listening to ‘Mulatu Steps Ahead‘ I wasn’t sure whether it was just a jazz album as there are very clear influences to Ellington with long solos too. For me it’s when the African or other world influences kick in that makes quite special.

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