Mulatu Astatke (born 19 December 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger widely regarded as the father of Ethio-jazz.

Born in Jimma, he received formal musical training in London, New York City, and Boston, where he developed a fusion of jazz and Latin music with traditional Ethiopian sounds. As a bandleader, Mulatu performed on the vibraphone and conga drums—both of which he introduced to Ethiopian popular music—as well as other percussion instruments, keyboards, and organs. His work is primarily instrumental, and he appears on all three known instrumental albums released during the Ethiopian Golden Age of Music in the 1970s.
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