- country:USA
- region:North America
- style(s):World
- label:Electric Cowbell
- type:Band
- gender:male, female
- instrumentation:vocal
- artist posted by:Entour Entertainment
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DEBO BAND
Since 2006, Debo Band has presented their unique interpretations of classic Ethiopian popular music to Boston-area audiences. Made popular through the renowned Ethiopiques series, the musical inspiration behind Debo Band is an unlikely confluence of Ethiopian pentatonic scales and vocal styles, American soul and funk, and the instrumentation of Eastern European brass bands, including accordion, violins, horns, and drums. Founded by Ethiopian American Danny Mekonnen, a Harvard University educated ethnomusicologist, Debo's performances bring together the best of the last forty years of Ethiopian funk, jazz, and pop, with a reverence for the vintage sounds of the 1970s and a commitment to discovering contemporary gems, mostly fronted by the group's crooning vocalist, Bruck Tesfaye, a native of Addis Ababa. More recently the group has begun developing new compositions, and in 2009, Debo wrote an original score for the award winning Ethiopian short film, "Lezare" (For Today). In May 2009 and February 2010, made two pilgrimages to East Africa for performances at the 8th Ethiopian Music Festival and the 7th Sauti za Busara music festival in Zanzibar.