The story
Acacia Jazz Festival in Addis Ababa
A jazz-branded event within Addis Ababa's broader Ethio-jazz musical culture, a scene built on the mid-twentieth-century fusion of Ethiopian scales with American jazz most associated with Mulatu Astatke. Independently verifiable detail on this specific festival's founding, venue and regular programme is limited compared to the well-documented Ethio-jazz tradition it draws on.
Addis Ababa has a jazz history stretching back to the mid-twentieth century, when musicians blending traditional Ethiopian scales with American jazz and Latin rhythms created what became known internationally as Ethio-jazz, a sound most closely associated with vibraphonist and composer Mulatu Astatke.