Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics (Inspiration Information 3 review)

 Mulatu Astatke now stands alongside some of the most influential African musicians of all time including Youssou N'Dour, Ali Farka Toure, Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade.  Were it not however for a particularly popular CD compilation series (Ethiopiques) and an auteur filmmaker (Jim Jarmusch who made Mulatu's contributions to Ethiopiques Vol. 4 the audio soundtrack of Bill Murray's mysterious journey in Broken Flowers) he may have never gone on to have the enormous impact that he's had on generations and microgenerations of musicians which have followed him.

The Heliocentrics are a London-based collective centered around drummer Malcolm Catto, bassist Jake Ferguson and producer Mike Burnham.  They first performed with the legendary Ethiopian Jazz composer/arranger/pianist/vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke in early 2008. The pairing went so well Astatke & The Heliocentrics started performing the classic songs Astatke recorded for the Ethiopian label in the late 60s and early 70s – that a collaborative recording session became a must. Thus began the landmark sessions in the Heliocentrics’ cavernous studio that resulted in Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3. 

This short documentary clip introduces you to the humble titan Mulatu and the young London bucks that revere his hugely impressive stamp on modern music.  Widely regarded as the father of self-styled Ethio-Jazz, Mulatu was a Berklee-trained musician- the first of his countryman to fuse American jazz and funk, with native folk and church melodies.  His music which came into prominence in the "Swinging Addis" era of the late 60's was revolutionary for its synthesis of traditional Ethiopian folk melodies, five tone scale arrangements and the influence of ancient Ethiopian Orthodox (Coptic Chuch) music.  Mulatu was deeply influenced by an opportunity to interact personally as an ambassador to Duke Ellington and his Orchestra when they came to Ethiopia in the early 70's.  Mulatu and his colleagues got a chance to play with Ellington's band and later Mulatu escorted Ellington to the presidential palace where he was presented with a medal by Emperor Haile Selassie.

We were due to play an evening concert so I discussed with him if he would consider playing one of my arrangements. I wrote an arrangement of ‘Dewel’ for his band, a different version which included some beautiful voicings on the horns. He found the structures so interesting and I remember him saying, ‘This is good. I never expected this from an African’. He made my day. His visit to Ethiopia remains one of the greatest moments in my life.  (Mulatu Astatke interview)

In 2007 Mulatu was living in Boston lecturing for the music academy (while holding the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship at Harvard University, where he worked on modernizations of traditional Ethiopian instruments and unveiled an opera, "The Yared Opera").  He was invited to play a show on London without much time to meet with  the  Heliocentrics; "We only had one day of rehearsal, but after the show was over, we felt we should collaborate. The album was very hard work. It was recorded in just 10 days, in the Heliocentrics studio in London."

Mulatu Astatke & The Helicocentrics, on their Stones Throw release Inspiration Information 3, do run though some of Mulatu’s classic recordings (like the instantly recognizable Yekermo Sew, Dewel or Esketa Dance) which they've also performed with Boston's Either/Orchestra.  Most of the album however is new material combining elements of psychedelic jazz, with electronic, dancefloor, funk and rock elements.   A fine example of the type of new material they collaborated on is Live From Tigre Lounge or the almost-breakbeat Addis Black Widow: