{
  "slug": "mulatu-astatke",
  "name": "Mulatu Astatke",
  "description": "Mulatu Astatke appears 3 times in our Ethio-Jazz list, placing as high as No. 1. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.",
  "updated": "2026-08-30",
  "url": "https://waxonia.com/artist/mulatu-astatke/",
  "appearanceCount": 3,
  "distinctRecordings": 3,
  "years": {
    "first": 1969,
    "last": 1972
  },
  "highestPlacing": {
    "rank": 1,
    "list": "Ethio-Jazz"
  },
  "appearsOn": [
    {
      "kind": "genre",
      "slug": "ethio-jazz",
      "name": "Ethio-Jazz",
      "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/ethio-jazz/",
      "entries": 3
    }
  ],
  "tracks": [
    {
      "trackKey": "mulatu-astatke--yekermo-sew",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/mulatu-astatke--yekermo-sew/",
      "title": "Yèkèrmo Sèw",
      "year": 1969,
      "label": "Amha",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "A vibraphone, a fuzz guitar and a mode that refuses to resolve. Jim Jarmusch later used it in Broken Flowers and introduced the whole tradition to a generation who had never heard of Addis.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Mulatu%20Astatke%20Y%C3%A8k%C3%A8rmo%20S%C3%A8w",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2qIJv6XGejc",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 1,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "ethio-jazz",
        "name": "Ethio-Jazz",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/ethio-jazz/"
      },
      "artist": "Mulatu Astatke"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "mulatu-astatke--tezeta",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/mulatu-astatke--tezeta/",
      "title": "Tezeta",
      "year": 1972,
      "label": "Amha",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "Tezeta is both a mode and a word for nostalgia, which tells you how the two are related here. The most purely beautiful thing in the Ethiopiques series.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Mulatu%20Astatke%20Tezeta",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=te9CHZCKWkU",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 3,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "ethio-jazz",
        "name": "Ethio-Jazz",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/ethio-jazz/"
      },
      "artist": "Mulatu Astatke"
    },
    {
      "trackKey": "mulatu-astatke--yegelle-tezeta",
      "trackUrl": "https://waxonia.com/track/mulatu-astatke--yegelle-tezeta/",
      "title": "Yègellé Tezeta",
      "year": 1969,
      "label": "Amha",
      "isrc": null,
      "whyItMatters": "The organ line is the hook and the bass never settles. Astatke's own tezeta, and the one most often lifted by hip-hop producers who found the reissues.",
      "alsoOn": [],
      "links": {
        "spotify": {
          "url": "https://open.spotify.com/search/Mulatu%20Astatke%20Y%C3%A8gell%C3%A9%20Tezeta",
          "exact": false
        },
        "youtubeMusic": {
          "url": "https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=TDfadvkNfIg",
          "exact": true
        }
      },
      "rank": 4,
      "on": {
        "kind": "genre",
        "slug": "ethio-jazz",
        "name": "Ethio-Jazz",
        "url": "https://waxonia.com/genre/ethio-jazz/"
      },
      "artist": "Mulatu Astatke"
    }
  ],
  "curates": null
}