The roots of Ethio-jazz run all the way back to the African bush people who created musical instruments and scales. A lesser known tributary springs from the town of Lindisfarne in the north Welsh countryside. It was here that a 16-year-old Mulatu Astatke first discovered his talent for the trumpet thanks to his music teacher, a British army veteran.

Following in the footsteps of Fela Kuti, he found himself at Trinity College where he studied piano, clarinet and vibraphone. Upon graduating he began playing in the clubs of Soho with expatriate African and Caribbean musicians.

From there he went to the US, and became the first African student to enrol at Berklee College in Boston. It was there he began to realise how the distinctive indigenous modes and textures of his native music could be blended with the American jazz and latin sounds he was immersing himself in.

By the time he returned to Addis Ababa in 1969, with instruments such as the electric keyboard, congas, bongos and wah-wah pedals for guitar, the city had become a fertile ground for experimentation, with an upsurge of arts activity. The music that comprises this explosive LP was recorded in the five years after his return.

These are landmark recordings. The atmosphere is suffused with balmy heat and the air with magic. Intoxicating new flavours are added to the East African melting pot. He reconfigures ancient grooves in sumptuous new clothing. Supple rhythms collide with unchained melodies in sensuous harmony. It’s as lyrical as instrumental music gets.

Dreamy lines from smoky horns drift above languid guitar sounds and rippling piano. The main ingredient here is a love supreme.