An interview with the father of Ethio jazz, Mulatu Astatke, admittedly felt out of the realm of possibilities. The 81-year-old musical pioneer, who orchestrated an entire genre lush with Latin jazz, funk and Afrobeat, might as well have been stuck in another era, completely unreachable. But when his label, Strut Records, announced he was releasing a new album, Mulatu Plays Mulatu, suddenly it didn’t feel so unattainable. Emails were sent, confirmations were made—it was happening.

But after several cancelations and what seemed like endless rescheduling, the chances for connecting with Astatke were looking increasingly slim. Then, on a warm, sunny September day in Pisa, Italy, Astatke finally showed up on Zoom and proceeded to champion African musicians’ contributions like his life depended on it. It was beautiful to witness. Astatke, still so full of passion for his craft, talked about his Ethiopian roots in a way that demanded attention.

It also became abundantly clear he has no plans to retire. Astatke, who studied at both the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Trinity College of Music in London, tours and continues to compose from his African Jazz Village club near Addis Ababa’s Meskel Square. Speaking to Wax Poetics, the amiable Astatke reflected on the time Bob Marley played “No Woman, No Cry” at his club, African artists’ indelible contributions to music and his first impression of the United States.

Wax Poetics: How did music come into your life at a young age?

Mulatu Astatke: It took me a long time to actually meet with a lot of people from out of Addis Ababa [Ethiopia capital], the Bush people. And it was so interesting. I learned a lot from them, and I did a lot of research. I'm still doing a lot of research about their contribution in the world, and this is what I'm working on now.

When you moved to London, you noticed that Ethiopian musicians and music weren’t very well known and that kind of bothered you a little bit, so did that start your mission to bring Ethiopian music to the rest of the world?

Yes. If you take the banjo, the banjo has the same sounds. The clarinet has the same sound as the Texas instrument in South America. And if you take the masenqo, it’s the same sound as the cello. Because there's some interesting things. I believe they should do a lot of research about the contributions of Bush people to the world of culture. This is what is left and it's what I'm trying
to do now.

I agree. What are the similarities between Latin and Ethiopian music?

Where do you think Latin music comes from? [Laughs] It's all African music. The cha -cha -cha, mambo, it's all African. That's what I was trying to tell you about the contribution of African culture to the world. The only thing I heard from Latin music is the montuno. That's all. But the rest of the thing is Africa, my sister.

Is it a bit frustrating that African artists and musicians don’t get the credit they deserve?

That's what's really happening. They're talking about the rap music. If you go down to South Rhino of Ethiopia, most of the rap movement and rap music is found in Southern Ethiopia. But nobody gives them a credit and a notice to those people. This is what actually I'm working on. But Ethiopian jazz is so great it's invading Europe now, which is a beautiful thing. It’s nice. You
hear everything in Ethiopian jazz. You hear jazz, you hear Latin music, you hear African,
European music, everything put in together.

It's interesting that you brought up rap. Nas, Damian Marley, so many huge hip-hop artists have sampled your music. What did you first think of sampling?

I have a lot of friends who are Rasta people. They have a lot of friends. They come to Ethiopia. We have a chat. They come to my club. Also, Bob Marley came to my club. He played “No Woman, No Cry” in my club.

No way.

Yeah, he came. I met him. He came to my club and it was really very interesting. I had seen a lot of Rasta people coming to my club in Ethiopia and it's a very nice connection. I have a lot of Rasta friends and they're very much loved and very much interested in Ethiopian music and Ethiopian jazz. And most of them, they sing about it, which is so interesting. That is such a cool part of history. I bet you saw a lot of very famous musicians come through your clubs. That must have been quite the community.

So sampling, what are your thoughts on that?

This is beautiful, this is great, this is a respect to Africa, to Ethiopia and to Mulatu, so I love this, this is very interesting. You see there are so many young kids still trying to sample to play my music, even in Ethiopia now, which is very interesting. In America, you go to different places and they sample my music, they play my music.

What was your first impression of the United States?

It was so beautiful. I was at Trinity College in London before I went to America and arrived at the Berklee College of Music. I had a lot of friends in great bands.

What do you think is the biggest difference between Americans and African people

Last time, I was in Hollywood I was playing at the Hollywood Bowl. I played with Kamasi
Washington and he’s a very understanding, very nice person. But the problem in America is they have a very low understanding of the African contribution culturally to the world. Most of the dances you call rap, you call other things, are found in Africa.

In Southern Ethiopia, there are people who dance and the rap is the same as which we learned is created from America. But this is what I was telling everybody, please give respect to the Bush people. Now let me tell you a story, I can tell you about how jazz, like when I was at Berklee and Harvard, they were teaching me the improvisation part of the jazz music. So I went back home in
Ethiopia. I was doing a research. There is this tribe called the Dirasha tribes who play the whole half diminished scales in Ethiopia. So what we learned, like Charlie Parker or those great people created by using the whole half and half whole diminished scale. So I said we have this in the Dirasha tribe in Ethiopia. And I said, who created it? Was it Charlie Parker or the Dirasha people?

I bet I can guess the answer.

Kamasi said to me, “You got me.” There are a lot of great contributions. There are instruments in Southern Ethiopia that sound like the trombone. It's called the Zummara.

So what came first? The trombone or the Zummara?

Zummara. This is what I'm saying about giving a credit, a contribution to the Bush people in Africa. Now you take the masenqo. They created the masenqo by cutting a horse's tail. When it comes down to it, the masenqo and the cello have the same sound. But the problem is cello, whatever you
play on the piano, you can play on the cello. But with the masenqo, you can only play four notes or five notes. That’s all. That’s the only problem. So what I'm working on now, I have a project called Bringing the Azumaris to the 21st Century, and I'm going to computerize all these instruments.

You're still innovating at 81 years old. You’re still making music, like your new album.

I have more things to do. And also, it's my own aim to introduce, to show to the world the contribution of Africa, African Bush people and what they're giving to the world. That is my next target. I want people in the world to know, to understand and to give respect. They are great genius people. So this is what we're working on now. I'm working with the University of California to computerize everything. So whatever you play on the piano, you can play on the
machine, on the cloud.

I hope I get to see you one day.

I love the American audience because they are not only there to come and enjoy, but they do analyze as well. When they listen to Ethiopian jazz, they hear European music and African music all combined together. That's the science of Ethiopian jazz.

Our birthdays are very close. I'm December 9 and you're December 18, what is the most
important life lesson that you carry with you?

Give respect to the Bush people in Africa!