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Drummer and percussionist Oren Fried was born and raised in Jerusalem. He studied with Jerry Garval and then started playing with various Jazz groups and musicians, both Israeli (Zlil Shachen) and foreign (Steve Grossman, Arnie Lawrence…). In 1981 he enters the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. Later, in New York, he studies Latin percussion with Frankie Malabe and plays with John Sherman’s Zydeco band, Sam Bennet’s “Chunk” and the Greek psychedelic funk band “Anabubula”. Oren Freed now lives in Jerusalem, teaches percussion and drum set playing; he’s a member of the multinational band “Jungle Bean”, accompanies singer Ilana Eliyah with “Jabalio” Ensemble (their CD, “From Here and from Kurdistan”, was released in 1996), and plays drum set with the “Mendy Cahan’s Yiddish Express”.
In the Israel Festival 2000, he performed and recorded Piris Eliyahu’s new compositions together with singers Alim Quasimov, Ferghana Qusimov and Esty Kenan Ofri and Ensemble Dam. Their CD, “Spirit of the East” was released in 2000.
He recently started performing with Ms. Kenan Ofri and Oud player Armand Sabah in a new trio, “Kol-Oud-Tof”.
