The success of 'New York + Addis + London, The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975', the compilation of his earlier work Strut Records released last year, apparently inspired Mulatu Astatke to head back into the studio to record his first full-fledged solo album in years. 'Mulatu Steps Ahead' sounds a lot jazzier than the 'The Story Of Ethio Jazz' and at times Ethiopia seems the last thing on his mind. 'Mulatu Steps Ahead' barely counts nine tracks and even those are not all new songs ('I Faram Gami I Faram' and 'Boogaloo' are older songs the master revisited for this album). With 'Assosa' Mulatu focuses on the traditional folk music from his country; the same music that was also at the root of Ethio-jazz.