Drummer Teferi Assefa was born to his father, Ato Assefa Tsegaye, and his mother, Weizero Menbere Tessema, on April 15, 1964 (April 23, 1972) in Addis Ababa. At the age of 3, he entered a kindergarten called Birabiro and received an education appropriate to his age. At the age of 5, he entered the famous St. Joseph School and completed his primary and secondary education with distinction.

Teferi had a great love for music since childhood, and after school, he would watch the school band play from the window and listen with enthusiasm. When he came home, he would bang the table, chair, iron pot, and plate, so his mother thought it would be better to buy him a drum before he finished his household chores.

He would hold his drum with pride and cover it. When he returned from school, after finishing his homework and studies and having dinner, he would only rest when he beat the drum that he had beaten him and fell asleep. When he entered the ninth grade, he asked his music teacher to please let him join a band as a drummer. The teacher happily accepted and made him a member of the band. Teferi became a skilled drummer.

When he graduated from the twelfth grade, his music teacher, Binyam Tsegaye, son of the famous musician Tsegaye Debalke, called Teferi's father and said, "Please allow your son to continue his passion for music, especially as a drummer." His father was surprised and said that since music is very competitive, it would be better for him to choose another profession that would earn him a living. He also said that since he passed the high school leaving exam with a high score, any university would accept him.

Around this time, the EPRDF entered Addis Ababa and schools were closed. Teferi started to stay at home, playing the drums and sometimes reading books. One day, Binyamin called him and said that he could work with music bands while you were at home. Teferi asked his father to let him. His father replied that since they play in every hotel, he might get addicted to cigarettes and alcohol. When he replied that he didn’t have this talent, he promised to try again in the future, so they let him work.

Teferi improved his skills by playing with bands such as IBEX, Ethio Star and others, and he used the francs he earned to buy musical instruments and books. After his father saw this, he sent him to Poland and studied at a famous music university, thinking that it would be better for him to develop his profession not through experience but through education. During his 7-year stay in Poland, he mastered the language well and, as is customary, obtained his master's degree with high honors.

After that, he played with famous Polish bands in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, Germany, Italy, etc. and gained fame. Since his family does not know the details of everything he did from Poland to America and then to his native Ethiopia, it is better for his professional friends to tell us. He used to tell us that he founded and participated in music bands called Wudasee Band, Lasta Sound Band, and Negarit Band with other friends. We also admired his work as a talented actor in the film Journey to Lasta.

After living in America for a few years with his beloved wife (then his fiancée), Teacher Abnet Asanake, they decided that it would be better to return to their country and teach their children. They returned to their beloved country, Ethiopia, where their mother was buried, and after their first marriage, they began teaching art and music at Addis Ababa University (Yared Music School) and Mekanisa Evangelical School. They were happy to have many students. The students are also remembering the kindness they received and thanking them in the media.

In addition, to further promote jazz music, which is rare in Ethiopia, he formed a jazz band and played jazz music at major hotels and entertainment venues on certain nights, involving foreign citizens working in various embassies who had knowledge of this music.

Teferi traveled throughout the region, regardless of ethnicity or religion, and has studied the musical cultures of 46 nationalities and compiled them in albums and writings. Through his research and research so far, he has made the world aware of how rich Ethiopia is in cultural music through the BBC and CNN, as well as other media. He planned to travel and study and compile the music of Ethiopian nationalities that are not currently included in the list at an appropriate time in the future. The general plan was to write a book on the results of his research and research to introduce it to the society and the world, and to help him along the way to obtain his doctoral degree. What will he do? All the plans are summarized. The one who thinks far and the one who is close is like this.

Teferi Feriha was a God-fearing, kind, gentle, humble, eloquent, great musician, great music teacher, great researcher who never gave up, and was proud of his work. His professional colleagues and students, as well as the community, are all permanent testimonies to his greatness. Teferi has left a great mark on us, and we should take comfort in this.

As mentioned above, Teferi married Mrs. Abnet Asanake in a holy marriage and gave birth to Amanu Teferi and Redeet Teferi.

Teferi came from Ethiopia to Los Angeles, California, for treatment due to an illness he had suffered a few months ago and passed away on January 14, 2017 (January 22, 2025) at the age of 52.

May the good Lord rest his soul in peace.

የተፈሪ አሰፋ አጭር የህይወት ታሪክ

አቶ ተፈሪ አሰፋ ከአባቱ ከአቶ አሰፋ ጸጋዬና ከእናቱ ከወይዘሮ መንበረ ተሰማ ሚያዝያ 15 ቀን 1964 ዓ.ም. (April 23, 1972) አዲስ አበባ ከተማ ተወለደ። በ 3 ዓመት ዕድሜው ቢራቢሮ በተባለ መዋዕለ ሕጻናት ገብቶ ለዕድሜው የሚመጥን ትምህርት ከተማረ በኋላ 5 ዓመት ሲሆነው በታወቀው ቅዱስ ዮሴፍ ትምህርት ገብቶ የአንደኛና የሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርቱን በከፍተኛ ማዕርግ አጠናቋል።

ተፈሪ ከሕጻንነቱ ጀምሮ ለሙዚቃ ከፍተኛ ፍቅር ስለነበረው ከትምህርት ጊዜ በኋለ የትምህርት ቤቱ ባንድ ሲጫወት በመስኮት እየተመለከተ በተመስጥኦ ያዳምጥ ነበር። ቤትም ሲመጣ ጠረጴዛውን፣ ወንበሩን፣ የብረት ድስቱን ሳሁኑን አየደበደበ ስላስቸገረ፣ ይሄ ልጅ የቤቱን ዕቃ ከመጨረሱ በፊት ከበሮ ብገዛለት ይሻላል ብለው እናቱ አነስተኛ ከበሮ ገዝተው ሰጡት።

ከበሮዋን በክብር ይዞ ሸፍኖ ያስቀምጣት ነበር። ከትምህርት ቤት ሲመለስ የቤት ሥራውን (ሆም ወርኩን) እና ጥናቱን ጨርሶ እራቱን ከበላ በኋላ ያቺን የፈረደባትን ከበሮ ሲደበድብ አምሽቶ ዕንቅልፍ ሲጥለው ብቻ ነበር የምታርፈው።ዘጠነኛ ክፍል ሲገባ የሙዚቃ አስተማሪውን በድረመርነት (በከበሮ መቺነት) ባንድ ውሰጥ እባክህ አስገባኝ ብሎ ጠየቀው። አስተማሪውም በደስታ ተቀብሎት የባንዱ አባል አደረገው። ተፈሪም የተዋጣለት ድረመር ሆነ።

አሥራ ሁለተኛ ክፍል ጨርሶ ሲመረቅ የሙዚቃ አስተማሪው ብንያም ጸጋዬ፣ የታዋቂው የኪነት ሰው የጸጋዬ ደባልቄ ልጅ፣ ለተፈሪ አባት ስልክ ይደውልላቸውና ልጅዎ ለሙዚቃ ትምህርት በተለይም በድረመርነት ከፍተኛ ፍቅር ስላለው በዚሁ ሞያ እነዲቀጥል እባክዎ ይፍቀዱለት ይላቸዋል። አባቱም በመገረም ሙዚቃ ብዙ ውድድር ያለበት ስለሆነ እንጀራ የሚያበላው ሌላ ሞያ ቢመርጥ ይሻለዋል፣ የሁለተኛ ደረጃ መልቀቂያ ፈተናውንም ያለፈው በከፍተኛ ማዕርግ ስለሆነ የትኛውም ዩኒቨርስቲ ይቀበለዋል ብለው ሰልኩን ይዘጋሉ።

በዚህ ጊዜ አካባቢ ኢህአዴግ አዲሰ አበባ ይገባና ትምሀርት ቤቶች ይዘጋሉ። ተፈሪም ሥራ ፈትቶ ከበሮውን እየደበደበ አንዳንዴም መጽሐፍ እያነበበ ቤት ይውል ጀመር። አንድ ቀን ብንያም ስልክ ይደውልለትና ሥራ ፈትተህ ቤት ከምትቀመጥ ከሙዚቃ ባንዶች ጋር እንድትሠራ ላደርግ እችላለሁ ስላለው ተፈሪ አባቱ እንዲፈቅዱለት ጠየቃቸው። አባቱም እነርሱ የሚጫወቱት በየሆቴሉ ስለሆነ የሲጃራና የመጠጥ ሱስ ሊይዝህ ይችላል አሉት። እርሱም ሲመልስላቸው ይሄ ዓመል እንደሌለብኝ ተውቃለህ፣ ወደፊትም እንደመልሞክረው ቃል እገባለሁ ስላለ እንዲሠራ ፈቀዱለት።

ተፈሪም IBEX, Ethio Star ከተባሉትና ከሌሎችም የሙዚቃ ባንዶች ጋር በመጫወት ችሎታውን በጣም አሻሻለ፣ የሚያገኛትንም ፍራንክ ሳያጠፋ ለሙዚቃ መሣሪያና መጻሕፍት መግዣ ነበር የሚያውለው። አባቱ ይሄን ከተመለከቱ በኋላ ሞያውን በዘልማድ ሳይሆን በትምህርት ቢያዳብረው ይሻላል በማለት ወደ ፖላንድ ልከውት በዕውቅ የሙዚቃ ዩኒቨርስቲ ገብቶ ተማረ። በ 7 ዓመት የፖላንድ ቆይታው ቋንቋውን በደንብ ተምሮ የማስትሬት ዴግሪውን እንደ ልማዱ በከፍተኛ ማዕርግ አገኘ።

ከዚያ በኋላ ከታወቁ የፖሊሽ ባንዶች ጋር በመሆን በካዛክስታን፣ በቤላሩስ፣ በራሺያ፣ በጀርመን፣ በኢጣልያ ወ.ዘ.ተ. እየተዘዋወረ ተጫውቶ ዝናን አተረፈ። ከፖላንድ ወደ አሜሪካ ከዚያም ወደ ወዲቷ አገሩ ኢትዮጵያ ሄዶ የሠራቸውን ሁሉ ቤተሰቦቹ በዝርዝር ስለማናውቅ የሞያ ጓዶቹ ቢናገሩ ይሻላል። ውዳሴ ባንድ፣ ላሰታ ሳውንድ ባንድ፣ ነጋሪት ባንድ የተባሉ የሙዚቃ ባንዶች ከሌሎች ጓዶቹ ጋር ሆኖ ማቋቋሙንና በሰፌው መሳተፉን ይነግረን ነበር። ጀርኒ ቱ ላስታ በሚለው ፌልምም የተዋጣለት አክተር ሆኖ የሠራውን አይተን አድንቀንለታል።

ከውድ ባለቤቱ (በዚያን ጊዜ እጮኛው) ከ መምህርት አብነት አስናቀ ጋር ጥቂት ዓመታት አሜሪካ ከኖሩ በኋላ ወደ አገራችን ተመልሰን ወገናችንን ብናስተምር ይሻላል ብለው ወስነው እትብታቸው ወደ ተቀበረበት ውዲቷ አገራቸው ኢትዮጵያ ተመልሰው መጀመሪያ ጋብቻቸውን ከመሠረቱ በኋላ አርሷ ስዕል  እርሱ ደግሞ ሙዚቃ በአዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ (ያሬድ ሙዚቃ ትምህርት ቤት) እና መካኒሳ ብሥራተ ወንጌል ትምህርት ቤት ማስተማር ጀመሩ። ብዙ ተማሪዎች በማፍራታቸውም ደስተኞች ነበሩ። ተማሪዎቹም የተዋለላቸውን ውለታ እያስታወሱ በየሚዲያው እያመሰገኑ ይገኛሉ።

በተጨማሪም በኢትዮጵያ እምብዛም ያልተለመደውን የጃዝ ሙዚቃ በይበልጥ ለማስተዋወቅ የጃዝ ባንድ አቋቁሞ የዚህ ሙዚቃ ዕውቀት ያላቸውን በየ ኤምባሲው የሚሠሩ የውጭ አገር ዜጋዎችንም እያሳተፈ በተወሰኑ ምሽቶች በታላላቅ ሆቴሎችና መዝናኛ ስፍራዎች የጃዝ ሙዚቃ ይጫወት ነበር።

ተፈሪ ጎሣና ሃይማኖት ሳይወስነው በየክልሉ አየተዘዋወረ እስካሁን የ 46 ብሔረሰቦችን የሙዚቃ ባህል አጥንቶ በአልበምና በጽሁፍ አቀነባብሮታል። እስካሁን ባደረገው ጥናትና ምርምር ኢትዮጵያ በባህል ሙዚቃ ምን ያህል የበለፀገች አገር መሆንዋን በቢ.ቢ.ሲ. እና በሲ. ኤን.ኤን. እንዲሁም በሌሎች ሚዲያዎች ዓለም እንዲያውቅ አድርጓል። አሁን ያልተካተቱትን የኢትዮጵያ ብሔረሰቦች ሙዚቃ ወደፊት ባመቺ ጊዜ ተዘዋውሮ ለማጥናትና ለማቀነባበር አስቦ ነበር። አጠቃላይ እቅዱ ያገኘውን የጥናትና የምርምር ውጤት መጽሐፍ በመጻፍ ለሕብረተሰቡና ለዓለም ለማስተዋወቅ፣ እግረመንገዱንም የዶክትሬት ዴግሪውን ለማግኘት እንዲረዳው ነበር። ምን ያደርጋል ዕቅዱ ሁሉ በአጭር ተቀጨ። ሩቅ አሳቢ ቅርብ አዳሪ ይሏል እንዲህ ነው።

ተፈሪ ፈሪሃ እግዚአብሔር ያደረበት፣ ደግ፣ ቸር፣ የረጋ፣ትሁት፣ አንደበተ ቅጡብ፣ ታላቅ ሙዚቀኛ፣ ታላቅ የሙዚቃ መምህር፣ ታላቅ ተመራማሪ ጨርሶ ተስፋ የማይቆርጥ፣ በሥራው የሚያኮራ ነበር። የሞያ ጓዶቹና ተማሪዎቹ እንንዲሁም ሕብረተሰቡ የተናገሩትና የጻፉት ሁሉ ለታላቅነቱ ቋሚ ምስክር ነው። ተፈሪ የተለየን ትልቅ አሻራውን ትቶልን ስለሆነ በዚህ ልንጽናና ይገባል።

ከላይ እንደተገለጸው ተፈሪ ከወይዘሮ አብነት አስናቀ  የተቀደሰ ጋብቻ መሥርተው አማኑ ተፈሪ እና ረድኤት ተፈሪን አፍርተዋል።

ተፈሪ ከጥቂት ወራት በፊት ባደረበት ህመም ምክንያት ለህክምና ከኢትዮጵያ ወደ ሎሰ አንጀለስ ካሊፎርኒያ መጥቶ ጥር 14 ቀን 2017 ዓ. ም. (January 22, 2025) በተወለደ በ 52 ዓመቱ ከዚህ ዓለም በሞት አረፈ።

ቸር አምላክ ነፍሱን በአፀደ ገነት ያሳርፍልን።

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