Tension

As the father of Ethio-jazz, the Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist and composer Mulatu Astatke has carved out a unique musical path. On his classic recordings of the late 1960s and early 70s he fused Amharic pentatonic scales and rhythms with elements of the jazz, funk and Latin music that he’d immersed himself in while studying abroad in the UK and the US, creating something fresh and groundbreaking in the process. Since emerging as a star outside of his home country – a 1998 French compilation of his work was followed by his music playing a starring role in Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film Broken Flowers – he’s been on a mission to further expand the perimeters of his sound with the help of a series of international collaborators. Albums with London-based collective The Heliocentrics, Boston’s Either/Orchestra and Melbourne ensemble Black Jesus Experience have seen him collectively add elements of cosmic jazz, psych, funk, reggae and hip-hop to his music. If one criticism might be levelled at Astatke’s generally stellar recordings of recent years, it’s that his own contributions have occasionally been somewhat drowned out by those of his more youthful collaborators.

Perhaps mindful of the subtle cadences of the vibraphone – Astatke’s chief musical instrument – Tel Aviv’s Hoodna Orchestra, a 12-member collective, have allowed his playing plenty of space to breath on this new collaborative album. Opener ‘Tension’ is a case in point. Despite the track’s busy, upbeat rhythms and urgent bursts of brass, Astatke’s magical vibraphone runs are put front and centre, sprinkling their otherworldly magic dust throughout. A beautifully sinuous tenor sax solo by Eylon Tushiner meanwhile roots the track in classic Ethio-jazz territory. Hoodna Orchestra began life as an Afrobeat group and a West-African percussive pulse drives the following ‘Major’, a jaunty, spring-like track which gambols along nicely while benefitting from some superb Ethio-accented keyboard runs courtesy of organist Eitan Drabkin. But it’s on the slower numbers that the group meld together best. The louche rhythm-and-blues sax grooves of ‘Hatula’ drift by like smoke in a jazz club before building up the tension towards a dramatic climax. The superb ‘Yashan’ combines smoky Ethio-jazz horns and throbbing bass pulses to underscore Astatke’s sterling vibraphone solos. Album closer ‘Dung Gate’ marches on a barrage of complex percussion, it’s tumbling metallic rhythms and hand claps acting as a bedrock for some rich brass motifs and subtle vibes runs. Full of sterling musicianship the album pays shimmering homage to Astatke’s classic sound while shifting and subtly expanding it towards satisfying new directions. Tension finds the now 80-year-old bandleader and his youthful collaborators combining in superb fashion and with a palpable sense of chemistry, showing that there’s plenty of life left yet in Astatke’s Ethio-jazz vision.