Born in Addis Ababa, Abate Berihun’s path to becoming one of Israel’s most prominent jazz musicians began with a childhood fascination for the local military band he heard rehearsing near his home. He picked up the saxophone at an early age and enrolled in the Addis Ababa University Music School, where he was first exposed to the albums of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, influences that would eventually merge with the Ethiopian scales of his heritage.
At age 16, Berihun joined the Ethiopian Military Band. Six years later, his service ended in tragedy when the band’s bus was ambushed by rebel forces fighting the Marxist dictatorship. In the prolonged attack, Berihun was wounded by two bullets and lost 35 of his...
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Born in Addis Ababa, Abate Berihun’s path to becoming one of Israel’s most prominent jazz musicians began with a childhood fascination for the local military band he heard rehearsing near his home. He picked up the saxophone at an early age and enrolled in the Addis Ababa University Music School, where he was first exposed to the albums of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, influences that would eventually merge with the Ethiopian scales of his heritage.
At age 16, Berihun joined the Ethiopian Military Band. Six years later, his service ended in tragedy when the band’s bus was ambushed by rebel forces fighting the Marxist dictatorship. In the prolonged attack, Berihun was wounded by two bullets and lost 35 of his fellow band members. Surviving the trauma, he went on to rebuild his life through music, becoming a fixture at the Ethiopian National Theater and touring the world with Ethio-jazz giants like Mahmoud Ahmed and Mulatu Astatke. By his mid-20s, he was leading his own band and touring Europe extensively.
In 1999, Berihun immigrated to Israel with his family, a move that required him to start over from zero. Despite his celebrity status in Ethiopia, he faced the harsh realities of the immigrant experience, working for years as a dishwasher - where the industrial detergents burned his fingers and hindered his ability to practice - and later as a night security guard. Far from being bitter about this duality, Berihun developed a philosophy that connected his day job to his art, viewing both as an opportunity to share positive energy and touch lives. "Whether I am welcoming people at the factory gate or playing the saxophone," he has noted, "my goal is to touch lives and share love."
Since those early years of struggle, Berihun has established himself as a highly successful and prolific artist. He founded and led a string of acclaimed ensembles: Ras Deshen, Kuluma, Shabate, and Tezeta, recording albums and performing on stages around the world. Beyond his own groups, he became a sought-after collaborator for high-profile figures in Israeli music, including Yossi Fine, Ariel Zilber, and Ehud Banai. Today, The Addis Ken Project serves as the primary vehicle for his artistry, allowing him to bring the fullness of his journey, from the stages of Addis Ababa to the global jazz circuit, into the quartet’s distinct fusion of ancient soul and modern spirit.
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