Tuesday night isn’t always easy to get a crowd out in Sydney these days. But with the beloved father of Ethio jazz on the bill, there’s no problem at all and the show is a sell out.
It was probably the last Australian concert for 75 year old Mulatu. And what a concert. With the floor cleared of seating at the beautiful Spiegeltent, the audience rushed in close and soon filled the space. Most knew the music of Ethiopian born and UK/US trained Mulatu and those who didn’t soon fell under his spell.
Mulatu blends jazz with Ethiopian scales, afro beats and hypnotic vibraphone melodies. He’s played with some of the best, including Duke Ellington. The music somehow opens up the spirit and you drift like incense. You feel free.“It’s like opening up an Egyptian tomb,” my friend murmured while moving to the music which is something of a time capsule while remaining present and fresh. I felt like I was cruising down hill on the back of a bike travelling through jazz fusion friendly Paris after midnight on a hot summer night.
Mulatu has been playing with the 8 piece Melbourne band, the Black Jesus Experience since and their Ethio-jazz is fused with funk and hip hop. Guitars, drums, sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals and percussion create depth and body but always with space and light- the hardest thing to achieve with so many musicians.
The talented Australian based Ethiopian singer Enushu added a spiritual charm to the group. Zimbabwe born and Australian raised ‘Mr Monk’ injected some hip hop to mix things up and created a unique local sound. Ian Dixon on trumpet and flugelhorn helped our flight and Melbourne based Nigerian Olugbade Okunade kept the awakening pulse with his afro-beat expertise. But really, all the musicians were top (and you can read about them here) and their blend beautiful. The group collaborated on the album Cradle of Humanity with Mukatu in 2015 and toured it through Australia and NZ. They’ve also played at top notch festivals such as Glastonbury, WOMADelaide and supported Tony Allen.
The fusion was phenomenal and time slipped by leaving the audience on a high with one thing left to do- grab an album and consider a trip to Ethiopia. Or in the meantime, Melbourne.
Photo Victor Frankowski
