Serge Tebu

African • Afrobeat • Jazz • World

BIOGRAPHY

Born in the Cameroon in West/Central Africa, Serge received a saxophone as a gift from his father at the age of 4. He soon began drumming on the furniture as early as the age of 8, yet he had no idea that he would become a musician. At 16, he began studying classical piano, and soon moved to jazz after a year, organising shows and concerts for the youth during his high school years.

In 1996, Serge met Zebson Pindy, a music teacher with whom he studied jazz harmony, improvisation, arrangement and composition. In 2000, Serge and Zebson had the idea to develop a music school. They opened the Zebson Jazz Academy in Douala, Cameroon, where Serge was headmaster and teacher, and which is still running to this day.

In 2003, Serge set up and ran a music studio. He composed and arranged for artists from all over central Africa. Now, he is living in Manchester, and is in regular demand as a session musician specialising in piano and bass guitar, over a range of projects:

• composing music for commercials, theatre and documentaries
• composing and producing music for the UK based artists TESTIMONY GIRLS who launched their album at BAND ON THE WALL
• composing and writing for the band KOKORIKO which fuses British jazz with African rhythms, bringing together musicians from different musical backgrounds all over the world through workshops, exhibitions and concerts
• performing with the BEATING WING orchestra organised by COMMUNITY ARTS NORTH WEST (CAN) alongside 12 other international musicians directed by acclaimed Palestinian composer Reem Kelani, performing at Manchester International Festival in 2007 and 2009
• appearing at a range of major UK music festivals
• running world music jam nights in Manchester and Salford, including BAND ON THE WALL
• delivering masterclasses in Afro-Latin grooves and styles, improvisation, orchestration and arrangement

Serge is strongly influenced by his Cameroonian background and jazz training, and also immerses himself in the soundscapes of Latin American and Asian music, as well as African and European music - underpinned with the conviction in the importance of studying our similarities instead of our differences.

Serge has spent much of his life exploring the musics of different cultures and traditions. His music blends African melodies and grooves with jazz and Western harmony, and is based on African storytelling on the themes of love, war and peace, conveying a bittersweet sense of melancholy balanced by irrepressible optimism.

PRICES

5-piece band from £885 plus VAT*

6-piece band from £1060 plus VAT*

7-piece band from £1235 plus VAT*

8-piece band from £1415 plus VAT*

9-piece band from £1590 plus VAT*

*Rates are for maximum 135 minutes (2.25 hours) for engagements within 25 miles of Manchester (M1), and exclude:

• expenses (transport, accommodation, subsistence)

BOOK NOW!

Simply contact Rory Duffy, Development Assistant, via any of the following methods...

T: 44(0)1618303885 / 44(0)7737760520

E: roryduffy@bandonthewall.org

W: www.bandonthewall.org