Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Astatke
Mon 17 November 2025
Stage time / 7:30pm
Doors / 7:00pm
Following his performance at EFG London Jazz Festival in 2023, the ‘Father of Ethio Jazz’, Mulatu Astatke, will bring two farewell shows to the festival this year.
The first is at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, 16 November with the second the following night at HERE at Outernet. This comes on the back of his first major studio album in over 10 years, Mulatu Plays Mulatu, which features his full big band performing alongside Ethiopian cultural musicians and stands as a fitting climax to an incredible career.
"Throughout my life, I wanted to bring Ethio jazz to all corners of the world for people to enjoy and I feel that I have succeeded in that,” says Mulatu. The world of music would definitely echo those sentiments.
Presented in partnership with
“Two prime dates in the farewell tour of this vibes-master and “Father of Ethio Jazz”. After a spell playing on the UK jazz scene and studying at Berklee in the 1960s, Mulatu returned to his native Ethiopia and defined a sound that has hooked fans globally with it’s beautiful hybrid of traditional Ethiopian scales and jazz aesthetic. This is a show to take your jazz-sceptic friend to and it will melt their heart.”
Jez Nelson, Jazz Fm Recommended 2025
