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Legendary Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke has taken his final bow on the concert stage, ending a remarkable live performance career that spanned more than six decades.
The 82-year-old pioneer performed his last live concert in London last month, warmly acknowledging the audience as he raised his arms in gratitude. Known globally as the creator of Ethio-jazz, Mulatu blended traditional Ethiopian music with jazz, Latin rhythms and funk to create a sound that transformed African music on the world stage.
Dressed in a shirt featuring artwork by renowned Ethiopian artist Afework Tekle, Mulatu slowly made his way to the stage, settling behind his signature instrument — the vibraphone. With delicate precision, he opened the performance with a melody rooted in a 4th-century Ethiopian Orthodox church tune, paying homage to his cultural and musical heritage.
Mulatu’s influence reached new audiences in recent decades through international cinema. His music featured prominently in Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film Broken Flowers and again in the Oscar-nominated film Nickel Boys, reigniting global interest in his work.
Reflecting on the concert, Mulatu described the night as “beautiful,” though he chose not to dwell on the emotional weight of the farewell. Fellow musicians and fans, however, called the evening “bittersweet,” celebrating both his brilliance and the end of an era.
Born in Jimma, Ethiopia, in 1943, Mulatu’s journey took him from North Wales to Trinity College of Music in London, and later to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he became the first African student. His return to Addis Ababa in 1969 marked the birth of Ethio-jazz — a sound that reshaped Ethiopia’s musical identity during the famed “Swinging Addis” era.
Despite early resistance to his experimental style, Mulatu persevered, drawing inspiration from traditional Ethiopian instruments such as the washint, kebero, and masenqo, which he proudly refers to as the creations of Africa’s original “scientists.”
Although he has retired from touring, Mulatu remains committed to promoting Ethiopian and African music globally, insisting that his journey is far from over.
“It’s not the end,” he said — only the closing of one extraordinary chapter.
