Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Of Ethiopia

Like much of the best of the circa-early-'70s contemporary Ethiopian music onthe Ethiopiques compilations, it's a captivating blend of late-'60s American soul and jazz with Ethiopian music, resulting in something not quite comparable to anything else. It is undeniably funky, with wah-wah guitar and organ aplenty. There's plenty of contemporary jazz in the arrangements, too, the sax runs sometimes showing the influence of the likes ofJohn Coltrane. Yet there's a melancholy minor cast to the melodies that marks this off as something quite different, and the rhythms likewise have irregularities that are more African than American.