Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Steps Ahead - Strut
FILTER Grade: 75%

Mulatu Astatke’s got new fans to deal with. Whether from the rice-cooker psych-funk of last year’s Heliocentrics collaboration or either of his recent retrospectives, the Ethio-jazz originator’s new Steps Ahead is his most high-profile yet. Still, “Radcliffe” begins the record in prayerful formlessness, eight minutes of trumpet suspended by miasmic chimes and elemental percussion. Even when things get lively, as on the simpering “Mulatu’s Mood,” the band unfortunately retains their cool—celestial, sly and smooth jazz-y. Brrr.