Almaz Yebio - Down To Earth [2013] [swe+ethiopia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbwuN-nb4Kg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGYNcOxI4es

The beginning

       Music was a part of my life very early on. I began to sing in a choir when I was five years old. My family moved from Sweden to Kitwe, Zambia for a couple of years before continuing to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. There I started playing the piano, an instrument I've always returned to through the years. Haile Selassie was deposed by a military junta so my parents quickly decided to take us children back to Sweden where I began taking classical guitar classes. I continued playing the guitar for more than a decade before realizing that my voice was my main instrument! I was 20 years old and studying at the Academy of music in Malmoe, Sweden when it became clear to me.

       Since my graduation as Master in fine Arts I've been working on a freelance basis as an artist, conductor and as a teacher. The projects through the years have been many and varied; some of which you can find amongst the records at sale.

01 - Almaz Yebio - Merry go round – M.Godée/A. Yebio
02 - Almaz Yebio - Further to fly – P.Simon
03 - Almaz Yebio - Hearts and bones – P.Simon
04 - Almaz Yebio - En dag var hon borta – K.Jonsson/J.Willén
05 - Almaz Yebio - Dancing – M.Ingvarsson/A.Yebio
06 - Almaz Yebio - Down to earth – P.Gabriel,T.Newman/P.Gabriel
07 - Almaz Yebio - Have a good time – P.Simon
08 - Almaz Yebio - The little things – F. Lundin/T-L.Væring
09 - Almaz Yebio - Solsbury hill – P.Gabriel
10 - Almaz Yebio - Washing of the water – P.Gabriel

       The latest recording "Down to earth" is the project closest to my heart at the moment! A sort of Almaz Yebio trio project that expanded towards more musicaians; an urge to give every song it's own sound within the record. I'm the producer of this record together with Mats Ingvarsson and it's also the first release on my own label!

     Member of Stroman/Jönsson vocal project, a Sweden/England collaboration discovering a suite written for five singers and five instrumentalists: Lena Willemark, Linda Pettersson-Bratt, myself, Scott Stroman, Cleveland Watkiss, all singers, and Maggi Olin-piano, Lisbeth Diers-percusion, Mattias Hjorth-bass, Cennet Jönsson-saxophones, Henrik Frisk- saxophones. A highly interesting and lovely piece of music with a lot of space for improvisations.

        Guest soloist on the latest record by Kjeld Lauritsen trio "In the zone". Kjeld is an institution all by himself in the Danish jazz community with his swinging Hammond organ playing!

         Since the release we have done quite some gigs together and it's really a thrill for someone like me who needs an injection of soul/jazz once in a while, that Hammond provides a sound to jump off of, every single time! In the trio you also find: Per Gade-guitar and Sören Frost-drums.

         Anna Weister-Andersson is one of Sweden's most acclaimed gospel singers and choir leaders. She is passionate about black american gospel music, and is putting her work as a composer, teacher and choir conductor into spreading and sharing this music throughout the country. 2011 Anna gathered a choir of ten singers and fie musicians to do the first recording entirely with her compositions, "One in Christ". I was invited to take part in this fantastic project, and we still do concerts when there is a possibility to gather the whole gang. Quite an undescribable feeling to be singing together with people like Samuel Ljungblahd, Malin Övrell, Ingela Olsson, Frank Ådahl, Malcolm Chambers, Martina W Möllås, Per Ankarberg, Kristina Talajic and Anna of course!

Almaz Yebio:  Vocals

Krister Jonsson:  Guitars and backing vocals

Mats Ingvarsson:  Basses, backing vocals, rhythm guitar

Fredrik Lundin:  Saxophones

Björn Jönsson:  Drums

Christian Glass:  Percussion

Dan Svensson:  Backing vocals