Born on September 22nd,1942 in Ijebu- Ijesha. Orlando Julius Ekemode started to practice the use of the saxophone and the drums at a very tender age. He became a percussionist at the age of 8 and played the percussion for the ‘Kokoma’ group a musical set-up in his village. The band, needless to say, made use of local instruments at their gigs, but the talented stars backing it up elevated the musical production of the group to its local stardom. As Orlando recounts his childhood memory he said his father who considered him as a misspent always whipped him whenever he comes back from his entertainment nights. Orlando Julius recorded his first album “Jagua Nana” and sold over 500,000 copies. He left Nigeria for Manhattan, New York. Orlando toured Europe with the famous flames and in 1972 played for the Olympics in Munich. Orlando finally left for the U.S in 1974 after recording Disco
Highlife and Children of the World featuring Dora Ifodu. He finally came into the limelight in Washington D.C. He played with Hugh Masekela for 2 years recording and producing with Hugh Masekela and performing with his band ” Ojah” backing Hugh. In 1975 after the success of Hugh Masekela’s “The Boy’s is doing it” the band toured the U.S, Canada, Hawaii, Ghana, and Liberia. Orlando formed the band ‘Ashiko’ in Washington DC. The band played in the East Coast and Mid-Western states, before moving to California. In 1977 Orlando met Lamont Dozier and co-produced “ Going Back to My Roots”. That was the first time a Nigerian artiste would record in his own language with an American counterpart. He has performed both at home and abroad and has produced an album that stands shoulder high with American records. Orlando Julius Ekemode is, without a doubt, a great saxophonist who has put more than four decades into Afro music. Comparing African Musicians to their European counterparts Orlando notes that: Africans don’t work hard enough and this has caused a proliferation of foreign music. Today, Orlando Julius Ekemode, the great saxophonist, songwriter, arranger, and producer with impressive tracks like, “Jagua Nana”, “Ololufe”, – “Mapami”, etc is still bouncing musically and physically too. He continues to perform with his band “The African All-Stars” to the delight of both the young and old alike.