Saxophonist/composer Kenni Holmen and Ethiopian bassist/composer Yohannes Tona, bandmates in guitarist Cory Wong’s touring combo, will team up in a different setting, Friday-Saturday Feb. 6-7 at Berlin. They’ll play a mix of originals and familiar tunes, with the help of pianist Steven Hobert, drummer Steve Jennings and guitarist Geoff LeCrone.
A native of the southern Ethiopian town of Awassa, Tona played guitar as a youth, making a name in the country’s church music scene. After studying music in the capital city of Addis, he won a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. After two years at Berklee, he moved to St. Paul to accept a music director post at an Ethiopian Evangelical church in St. Paul.
Since the early 2000s, Tona has led his own band and been a sought-after sideman, performing with elite Minnesota musicians including Cory Wong, Dr. Mambo’s Combo, Nachito Herrera, Jef Lee Johnson, The Sounds of Blackness, and The Steeles. Tona’s own music is a unique blend of Ethiopian/African music, jazz and American R&B.
For decades, Kenni Holmen has been one of the most successful active recording and touring musicians in Minnesota. Since 1992, he has performed worldwide with musicians including Prince, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Johnny Mathis, Tony Bennett, T.C. Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Holmen has recorded with Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Prince, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Cory Wong, The Fearless Flyers, Ben Sidran, Babyface, Mandy Moore, and more
