Mulatu Astatke + Criolo
Koko, London
18th November 2012
Mulatu Astatke is widely known as the father and king of Ethiojazz and in recent years has started to become regarded as one of the pioneers of jazz itself, Africanising the hard-bop ensembles and sensitivities of the late 50s/early 60s America with traditional Ethiopian scales and rhythms.
At the converted theatre that is Camden’s Koko, Astatke played a relatively rare UK date joined by a London-based jazz band. Without a particular album to promote, the 69-year-old percussion player led the seven-piece ensemble through somewhat of a ‘best of’ concert, showcasing highlights of his long career, from his classic pieces used in the Éthiopiques record series, such as dark grooves of ‘Yèkatit’ and ‘Yèkèrmo Sèw’ (the latter a take on Horace Silver’s ‘Song for My Father’ and ‘Señor Blues’) to tracks from his latest ‘modern jazz’ albums with the Heliocentrics and the Either/Orchestra such as ‘Motherland’ and ‘Chik Chikka’.
Due to the nature of the ensemble, each track had many different influences as various members of the band took their turns to solo: James Arben of the Heliocentrics on saxophone, bass clarinet and flute moving effortlessly from bebop to free jazz and back; double bassist John Edward, seemingly of the Charles Mingus school of madcap bassery, not limiting his playing to the strings of his instrument; ‘Mr Alex’ on cello sounding like anything between an electric harpsichord and an entire, joyfully discordant horn section. Meanwhile, Astatke’s vibraphone, as well as the obvious comparison with Milt Jackson (both for his instrument and the flowing quality of his melodies) also evoked thoughts of Thelonious Monk in his playful use of dissonance and the heavy textures of more contemporary musicians such as Django Bates, all the while keeping the grounding firmly in Ethiopia.
Due to an odd bit of scheduling, the evening’s support act performed after Astatke and his band, creating effectively a double-header. Criolo, a rapper and singer from São Paolo, Brazil has been recently hailed as one of the brightest young stars on the scene, and, having collaborated with Astatke earlier this year as part of the Back2Black festival, seemed an exciting addition to the bill. Indeed, Criolo’s band fit the evening perfectly with their take on jazz funk whilst including bossa, tango, free jazz and reggae influences. Unfortunately, the same cannot really be said for Criolo himself nor his hypeman. Between the rapper’s rhythmically unimaginative raps and awkward stage presence and the frankly irritating hyper’s seemingly uncontrollable urge to shout obnoxiously over any of the musicians’ solos, one could be forgiven for thinking they were doing their best to ruin the ensemble’s work. The rapper’s set seemed to divide the audience, with those staying going wild, while others left in disappointment.
An evening of two halves then. One gets the feeling that in a different slot, venue or roster, Criolo may be viewed more favourably, but then, following a master doing as he does best is never easy.
Photo: Ethiopiques, by Howard Stanbury. Used under licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.