Fusing a mixture of African, Afro-Cuban, Jazz, and Funk music, Akoya Afrobeat is New York’s finest example of a musical melting pot. Featuring members from Panama, Ghana, Benin, South Africa, Japan and the US, this 13-piece ensemble embraces unity and positive vibrations. Armed with original music and an arsenal of songs by Afrobeat founder, Fela Kuti, Akoya consistently brings a new level of dance floor frenzy with every performance. The group features lead vocalist Kaleta, who for 10 years performed and recorded with the immortal Fela Kuti and Egypt 80. He has also toured with Femi Kuti as well as the legendary King Sunny Ade. His vocals, sung in Yoruba, Pidgin English and various Benin dialects, fused with driving horn lines and a precision-tight rhythm section, bring a sound so infectious one can’t help but dance. Their debut CD “Introducing The Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble” has been very well received, as it has been getting regular airplay on radio stations in South Africa, Nigeria, Benin, France, London and Panama, as well as New York’s WKCR, WBLS, WBAI, and WFMU.

Praise for Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble

“Akoya is developing a reputation for whipping dance floors into a frenzy with their fusion of African, Afro-Cuban, Jazz and Funk music… Akoya is poised to make an impact in the budding global Afrobeat movement.”
- URB Magazine (Akoya was featured in URB’s 2005 “Next 100 Upcoming Bands”.)

“Dancers crowded the stage until the last downbeat.”
- New York Times

“An impressively diverse crew….the group sends a positive political message simply by bringing people from all corners of the world together to share in this joyful collective. Fela would be proud!”
- Afropop Worldwide

“Excellent debut!”
- Village Voice

“Irreverent, intense, sophisticated, multicultural, brash, self-confident and creative… the result is an impassioned and beautifully crafted disc that has earned its place in the collection of any Afropop devotee as well as fans of electric Miles Davis, Santana and perhaps also fans of Willie Colon and the jam band movement. Highly recommended.”
- The BEAT Magazine

“On its debut, the band tears through a propulsive set of original, horn-and-percussion-driven compositions that draw as much from jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban sounds as they do on the original Afrobeat template. Live, they’re known to take on the master himself, often incorporating Fela compositions into their scorching sets.”
- Global Rhythm Magazine

Kaleta (vocals /percussion) is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and producer. He has performed, toured and recorded with the two most prolific Nigerian music legends, Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade as well as with Majek Fashek, Shina Peters and Femi Kuti. The frontman of Akoya combines thought-provoking lyrics with complex Benino-Nigerian Rhythms to create a sound that makes the dance floor move. Kaleta sings in Yoruba, Goun, Ewe, English, French and, of course, Pidgin English (the official language of Afrobeat).

Yoshi Takemasa (congas / percussions) was born in Kobe, Japan. He began playing the electric guitar at the age of 14, in a local R&B/Blues band. After he moved to N.Y.C. to study music in 1996, he also began to play hand drums, and has since studied Afro-Caribbean and West African drumming in New York, Jamaica and Cuba. He has worked with Lauryn Hill, DJ Logic, Cedric Im Brooks, TV on the Radio,  Organic Grooves, Kaleta Worldbeat, Chin Chin, Trues & Soul records, Franck Biyong’s Massak, Kofo ‘The Wonderman’,  National Dance Theater Company of Jamaica and Antibalas Afrobeat orchestra, among others. In addition to his work with Akoya Afrobeat, he has been working with Tony award winner  Bill T. Jones ‘(Director/Choreographer) new off B’way musical “FELA “.

Gabe Hays (keyboards) comes from the desert in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He attended Bard College and the Lamont School of Music, where he was inspired to make jazz noises by the brilliant Ron Miles, Rudy Royston, Kenny Walker, and Lynn Baker (among others). After graduating with a music degree in 2000, Gabe moved to New York where he decided to explore some other musical options, eventually performing with the rock band The Batterie and as a founding member of Akoya Afrobeat. When not performing, he spends most of his time writing, recording and teaching. Along the way he has had the pleasure of performing and/or recording with Djate (of Culture), Rudy Royston, Cody Brown, Barry Reynolds and Chico Mann (among others).

Felix Chen (bass)  is a multi-instrumentalist who started his musical education at the age of three studying violin and piano. Since then, he has performed internationally playing electric bass, trombone, violin and more recently, sitar. During a four year stay in Taiwan, he performed in hundreds of shows including performances on national television and radio. He then followed his passion for traveling and embarked on a 12-month backpacking trip exploring remote areas in Vietnam, India, Pakistan, China, Thailand and Laos. His travels brought him back to New York where he continues to play music with Akoya and various other groups.

Duke Mseleku (tenor sax) was born in South Africa and comes from a family of musicians. He spent some time studying music at Darius Brubeck’s Jazz School of the Natal University in South Africa. After touring internationally with the fourteen piece reggae band Bopha, he moved to the United States in 1995. Since that time, he has played with numerous musicians and bands in New York City.

Yoshio “Tony” Kobayahshi  (drums) was born in Nagano, Japan, and started playing drums when he was fifteen. He came to New York City in 1997 and began working in jazz, Carribbean and dub styles. Inspired by Fela’s music, he joined Akoya Afrobeat. Among Yoshio’s other projects are the Dub Nomads, Chimp Beams and Main Space, as well as a number of studio sessions.

Will Jones (baritone sax) heralds from the Great White North of Maine. Found at an early age playing clarinet in the woods, he swapped out the scenery for the Brooklyn jungle in 2002. He studied jazz at the New School and performs with African Connection, Who Put the Bad Mouth On Me?, Brian J and the Pimps of Joytime, and the Hump.

Ryan Blotnick (guitar) grew up in the woods of Maine, discovered music by fingerpicking along to “Stairway to Heaven” and playing in Jimi Hendrix cover bands. He started playing jazz at age 12, studied music in New Jersey and Copenhagen and has been living in Brooklyn since 2005. He has a new album out on Songlines (Music Needs You) with his own jazz group, and performs with the Michael Blake Band, Pete Robbins & Centric, and the Hump.

St. Louis’ own Kemba Russell (vocals / sticks) is a multi-faceted performer. She has participated in a number of projects outside of Akoya as a vocalist and/or dancer, including Roombuzz, Coultrain, ARP, Palo Colorado, Takuya Nakamura and the Ray-Makers.

 Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (guitar) has been with Akoya since New Year’s Eve, 2005. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he has always been interested in powerful music containing political and social substance, starting from the hip-hop scene he grew up with, and expanding outwards to music from all over the world, and throughout history. As a professional guitarist, bassist and keyboardist in a variety of styles (jazz, reggae, Afrobeat, hip-hop and early American music in particular), he has always returned to Akoya Afrobeat as his musical home.

Hailing from Hempstead, Long Island, Mayteana Morales (vocals / shekere) has been shaking the shekere with Akoya since March of 2007. She is also in Chico Mann with Marcos Garcia & Victor Axelrod of Antibalas, as well as hip-hop icon Vinia Mojica. Past projects include 7 & Counting and Willpilot.

27-year-old Taku Kuroda  (trumpet) was raised in Kobe, Japan, where he developed his style as a trumpet player influenced by the music of Count Basie, James Brown and Fela. He currently resides in Williamsburg and plays in a variety of projects apart from Akoya, including Main Space (dub), NYCE Band (gospel), and Chicken Gravy (funk-jazz).

David Steinberg  (tenor and bariton sax ) hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was introduced at a young age to the rich and diverse musical landscape of the region. In addition to his work with Akoya, David stays busy performing and recording with many top names in jazz and rock in New York City and beyond.