Nebiyu T. Kebede started playing keyboard at the tender age of 10. Growing up in Italy during the 80s where MTV was just starting to influence young kids, he and his brothers were strongly drawn to the music scene. Once back in Ethiopia, his interest in music further developed when his brothers started playing for their school bands. Looking at the interest that the brothers had in music, except his sister Liya Kebede which was interested in modeling, his parents bought them a keyboard.
With a gift for playing music by ear, he quickly taught himself how to play everyone's favorite tunes, including Tizita and the instrumentals that used to play on Ethiopian Television. Even though his brothers (Samson Kebede and Ermias Kebede) used to play for their high school's band at St. Joseph, he never went the route of the performer but kept his interest at home.
Later on in college he discovered his ability to write melodies while spending long hours at the school's recording studio. To balance off the demanding studying required pursuing a degree in computer science, he spent many hours in the recording studio learning the art of arrangement and the science of recording music as well. Since then, he built his own recording studio and production company called Rhythm And Soul productions - all while maintaining his day job as a software consultant.
After college, the passion for writing continued and Berhane Nesh was the first single released at the Ethiopian Soccer Tournament in 2000. Following the good reception from the single, his first album Mood Swings / Ye Simet Kana was released in 2001. It was sponsored by Ethiopian Airlines and sold aboard their flight for 4 years consecutively until the release of the new album Rhythm Of Life / Tiritawhich replaced it.
During the years, his interest in guitar and bass grew as well. From his collaborations with Abera Alemu (guitar) and his brother Ermias Kebede (bass), both from Abogida band, he witnessed the flavor the two instruments added to his Mood Swings album. Since then he has started practicing guitar and bass to a point where he recorded guitar tracks on his new Rhythm of Life album and on other CDs he produced for other artists, like Danny Gofferae and Neway Afe.
He is currently working on his third album as well as producing other artists as his demand for his musical touch grows...
Jorga Mesfin is a self taught musician with influences that span the spirit and innovation of Jazz and the ancient and diverse sounds found in Ethiopian music.
Wudasse - Ete Mate
A professional performer since the age of 17, his career boasts appearances with Tsegaye Gebremedhin, Carolyn Beard Withlow, The Last Poets, Vijay Iyer, Wayna Wondossen, Kirk Whalum, Takana Miyamoto, Gizze Reggae band, Dionne Farris, Aster Aweke, Mahmoud Ahmed and Mulatu Astatke.
He is the founder of Ethio-jazz group Wudasse, and composed the score to Haile Gerima’s epic Ethiopian movie Teza, for which he won the award for Best Music Selection at the 22nd Carthage Film Festival and Best Composer Award at the 5th Dubai International Film Festival. As a saxophone and piano instructor, Jorga teaches at the at African Jazz School, Mekanisa Mekanyesys Music School and the Wusate Berhan Abere Music Training Center for the Visually Impaired.
The highlights of "Mood Swings" are its originality, smoothingness and musical variety: Ethiopian, jazz, reggae, African Soukous, ballads and more. Every song, as the title of the album insinuates, possesses its own mood.
The album's "Nostalgia" and "Visions of Love" account for a mellow mood, "Eskesta" and "Sweet Soukous" are upbeat songs, "Night Life" and "Urban Life" possess a jazzy groove and the romantic "Berhane Nesh" and "Hiwot" are more reflective.
"Endegena Degmo" has received high popularity for it's traditional yet modern feel. The last song on the album "All My Love" is a dance music produced in collaboration with a young and talented singer Yolanda Davis.
Nebiyu T. Kebede - 01 - Nostalgia (5:26) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 02 - Berhane Nesh (5:02) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 03 - Endegena Degmo (4:39) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 04 - Hiwot (4:28) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 05 - Eskesta (4:26) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 06 - Night Groove (4:12) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 07 - Visions of Love (4:30) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 08 - Urban Life (4:03) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 09 - Sweet Soukous (3:40) Nebiyu T. Kebede - 10 - All My Love (4:41)
Nadav Haber started to learn the clarinet at the age of 10. In 1988-89 he lead a qaurtet in the Tel-Aviv clubs in Israel, and played in a blues duo. In the 90's nadav has switched to the tenor sax, and began to explore Ethiopian music. He played in Ethiopian dance bands all over Israel, in Ethiopian clubs and weddings. This has lead to the issue of Ethiopian Blues, and other smaller productions that were aimed at the Ethiopian Israeli market.
In recent years Nadav moved back to playing jazz, and in 2003 led a hard bop quintet in Jerusalem. He is currently working on two projects - an Ethiopian Jazz program and a “Favorite ballads” program.
Nadav Haber Quartet - Merkato
Nadav Haber Quartet - 01 - Merkato (6:23) Nadav Haber Quartet - 02 - Revalation (8:40) Nadav Haber Quartet - 03 - Reflection (9:09) Nadav Haber Quartet - 04 - Rambling (8:33) Nadav Haber Quartet - 05 - Limbo (8:42) Nadav Haber Quartet - 06 - Sudan (6:16) Nadav Haber Quartet - 07 - Arrival (7:02) Nadav Haber Quartet - 08 - Tizita (9:03) Nadav Haber Quartet - 09 - Prayer (12:38)
Mathias Makonnenstarted music at the age of 16 with his friends: Abegaz, Henock, Minassie, Mebratou and Abiy.
The late Genene Nebebe was the pioneer person in bringing Mathias into the Music world.
Teodros Desta soon after, offered Mathias to join the Sevans Band upon Mathias' Return from overseas studies.
In 1989, after migrating to the USA, Mathias was approached by legendary singer and song writer, Aster Aweke, to join her Band in Washington D.C. with Teodros Mitiku(Sax) and Mesfin GM(Bass).
Mathias continued backing Aster Aweke in the 1989 International Music Fest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, hosted by David Sanborne.
Mathias still performs with legendary and upcoming singers world-wide.
Roha Band has influenced the Ethiopian music industry as no other private music band has succeeded in. Perhaps one can safely say that Roha Band means to Ethiopia what “The Beatles” were to Britain.
The establishment of “The Roha Band” draws upon heavily or has a strong relation with the fall outs from the wind down and disintegration of the Ibex and Dahlak bands. Members of these two bands recollect that the reasons for the dissolution of the two bands have to do with the emigration of band members to the Sudan and the US leaving a serious vacuum of skill in the bands.
The Roha Band took it’s name from the historic town of Lalibela. The founding members of the band were Giovanni Rico (Bass guitar), Selam Seyoum (Lead guitar), Fekade Made Meskel (Tenor Sax), all these three hail from Ibex Band and those who joined the Roha Band after the disintegration of the Dahlak Band were Dawit Yifru (Key board and music arranger), Levon Fondachi (vocalist), Tekle Tesfazgi (drummer and vocalist joined the Roha Band leaving their private activities. After the band begun its work, it soon realized that it needed an additional skill and resources. This resulted in the second wave of outsourcing which brought Yonas Degefe (saxophone) and Elias Bekele, Berhanu Yoseph and Ashenafi Awel (both drummers) as well as Yared Teferra (saxophone) in to the fold of the band.
The startup was difficult specially in terms of capital and musical instruments. Thus, the former Ibex Band members brought the musical instruments they got upon the dissolution of the band to use them in their new band assignments. The band also secured a loan of Birr 40,000.00 from Ato Abeselom Yihdego for the purchase of additional instruments. This well known philanthropist thereby left a deep sense of gratitude in the memory of the band member’s to date. In fact, the man is known for a helping hand he extends from time to time to those engaged in the activities of music and sports.
Roha Band reunion
The beginnings of the Roha Band were pretty humble and it remains a relative unknown for some time. It was affiliated to the Hilton and Ghion hotels, not a great way to reach the wider public other than the small number of customers of these hotels.
The band’s introduction to the public rather came through its involvement in the recording industry where it accompanied and engaged in music arrangement. It benefited nearly all of the best known vocalists of the country both veteran and emerging talents. With this the fame of the band sky rocketed. The skill of the members was phenomenal, their rythems and arrangements were electrifying. The name Roha Band became synonymous with an paralled musical talent and it was the number one preference for a singer who contemplates an album release.
Its excellence is such that music lovers never mind to buy cassettes even those released complete stranger if it is accompanied by the Roha Band and produced by the Ambassel Recordings. The two brands offer a guarantee through quality. The legacy of the Roha Band has influenced the music industry in some other ways. For instance, usually it is the singer or the vocalist that takes the lion’s share of the admiration and fame after a successful release. The public never asks about the band accompanying the singer. There is no doubt the Roha Band’s influence changed this in drawing the attention of the public to the bands behind the fame and glory of singers.
Among the focalists in whose releases the Roha Band took part (both in accompanying and music arrangement) were Mahmoud Ahmed, Tehome Wolde, Muluken Melesse, Alemayehu Eshete, Melkamu Tebeje, Kuku Sebsbie, Hamelmal Abate, Neway Debebe, Tsehate Yohannes and many many others.
Roha Band - Oromigna
Besides its regular engagement at the Hilton and Ghion hotels, the band also took part in several musical tours with the vocalists it accompanied. It’s tours took it to towns like Asmara, Assab, Massawa, Mekele, Bahar Dar, Jimma, Dire Dawa, Awassa, Nazareth e.t.c.The instrumental it released was an instant hit and exhibited the individual and collective skills of the band members. The cassette is still highly sought after, a limited release as it was.
In the cassette Aster Aweke’s “Hode Mela”, Mahmoud Ahmed’s “Shegule ya lelawo”, Tekle Tesfazgi’s “Fikere telemeni” went instrumental showing how best the band can play both fast and slow music. Among the several music tours the band did the one that requires a special mention was the band’s tour to the areas of Metekel and Gambells where students and instructors of higher education institutions were on duty of building houses for a grand resettlement programme. The band toured these remote border areas and gave live shows free of charge. It has to be noted here that the government sent the band to these areas at the request of the students. The shows it gave were successful both in entertaining the tens of thousands of students who were in hostile and most basic of conditions ans in securing a good reputation to the band.
The Roha Band further developed its resources and brought better musical instruments some of which were new to the domestic music industry. Having strengthened itself, the band toured even further, this time to voluntaries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and several states in America.
The fact that the band members were, besides their musical talent, versed in various individual skills and had different trainings, gave the band the opportunity of making use of this resource and be able to have a very good financial administration and resource management. For instance, the band’s music arranger and key board player Dawit Yifru is a professional accountant, Giovanni Rico studied management. In fact the band was a well managed one.
In a band setting, working together for 13 years is a rare thing. The Roha Band did this until it finally dissolved in 1993.
Factors such as members desire to earn a living by engagements and businesses other than music, the hardship the entertainment industry faced with and the unfavorable and a business centered competition from second rate bands offering their service cheap e.t.c. all pushed the Roha Band out of the lime light and into oblivion. Out of the band members Dawit Yifru, Yonas Degefe (Simon Libanos), Yared Teferra and Ashenefi Awel are still in the music industry. Dawit Yifru is the current president of Ethiopian Musicians Association. The other band members gave up music for good and are leading their lives in other engagements. Apart from Tekle Tesfazghi who died in a car accident in 1987, the others are not only alive but also had a serious plan in mind. Following an over whelming request from the public ina recent radio programme on one of the FMs, the band members confirmed that they have a well thought over plan to regroup one again and give a show as a fare well bid to their fans wheather of not an age factong on musical talent is something to be seen.
Roha Band - 01 - Ambassel - Instrumental (6:24)
Roha Band - 02 - Kememot Aldenem (6:48)
Roha Band - 03 - Fikrey Telemeni [Tegregna] (4:58)