BIOGRAPHY El-jazz was born on the 25th of December, 1980 to Dr. Gabriel Akanbi Alebo and Mrs. Rachel Tale Alebo in Omu-Aran, Kwara State in Nigeria. Therefore, one can safely say that his passion for music and deftness at music making were in-born (literally, that is) on the auspicious and musical day of Christmas. But he did not start playing music until in 1993 at the tender age of 12 when he started learning â unofficially â from his eldest brother, Olu Alebo, who was, at the time, teaching someone how to play the guitar. From keenly watching his brother teach someone how to play the guitar, El-jazz began playing his first few notes. A few years later, he joined the famous Prince Ojo Ade juju band in Kwara State as a greenhorn. He spent the first 3 years of his career at the band before proceeding to Lagos in 1998. In Lagos, El-Jazz met Segun Shobayo and Papa Okoh who were both instrumental to his further exposure into the world of music in general and the honing of his guitar playing skills in particular. To increase his dexterity with the string instrument â which became his alter ego â it was Papa Okoh who first taught El-Jazz Chord Formation and it was also he who introduced El-Jazz to Guitar Harmony. Both Papa Okoh and Segun Shobayo were, at the time, members of the legendary King Sunny Adeâs band. El-Jazz wanted to become a musician who is worth his salt. By virtue of this pursuit for excellence, he decided to take his chosen carrier to another level. So he enroled at the Classique School of Music, Igbobi, Lagos where he studied from Grade One to Grade Eight. He graduated with a Diploma in Music in 2002. Subsequently, he obtained the Grade Eight Certificate in music from the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON). El-Jazz launched his debut album, Revelation (2005), and it was nominated for Best Gospel Jazz Album of the year in 2006, by GAD Entertainment, an entertainment company in Nigeria. From this album, it became apparent that El-Jazz has a unique style of music that is essentially afrocentric jazz. Just as every career has a journey, in El-Jazzâs music career â which he proficiently plays two musical instruments, the piano and guitar â he played in the church choirs of churches like Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ayo-Nio, Healing Wings Chapel of Faith among others. He has performed at the Nigeria Jazz Club concerts, Jazz Mind, and he is currently the in-house anchorman and Jazz artiste for B-Jays Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, at their monthly Jazz Night. El-Jazz is the President of Jazz-33, a once-a-month interactive session of jazz by a variety of jazz musicians. This programme, a brain-child of El-Jazz has been running since October, 2005 and admission is free. Every last Sunday of the month, jazz lovers convene to a live performance of different improvisations of jazz tunes and harmonious ballads. Apart from his band that invariably performs, some of the artistes who have performed on this platform are Mike Aremu, Mike Ebere, Bright Gain, Ayo Solanke, Jumbo, Yinka Davies, and Victor Odetunde. On a different platform, El-Jazz has also performed alongside Steve Rhodes. With his requisite training and scholarship in music, El-Jazz is the proprietor of El School of Music that has become a fast growing music school. On July 29th, 2007, El-Jazz received the Nigeriaâs Jazz Icon award. By this, he has become the youngest Nigeriaâs Jazz Icon among five other recipients of the same award. All artistes have legends who inspire them in their various careers or specialties and El-Jazz is no exception. He has a couple of music greats such as George Benson, Wes Montgomery who have inspired him a great deal. Some of his mentors are Bright Gain and Agboola Shadare. His highly anticipated new albums, Reflection and Joyful Dance will both be launched on the 21st of December, at the B-jayâs hotels, Victoria island.