Zacharia Odisho Zacharia

Zac was first hooked to music in his early teens, He watched musical movies and listened to the collection of 78rpm gramophone records he had, in 1946, age 14, he took violin lessons and a year later he bought his first musical instrument, a Clarinet, from the well-known Iskanderian Music Shop in Baghdad. And a short time later he upped and bought a Grafton Aerylie Alto Saxophone, the very first of its kind seen in the local community of Habbaniya.

Under the direct supervision of a R.A.F sergeant Alex Alexander, a professional teacher and Saxophonist, Zac started weekly music lessons as well as enrolled in and studied from 1952 through 1955 a correspondence course in advanced music, chords and ad lip improvisation from Les Evans School of Music of London, and become a proficient Saxophonist and Clarinetist.

Zac also joined the British R.A.F, 15-piece Orchestra in Habbaniya named “Mellow Tones”. He was the only Assyrian professional musician picked to join the band, which performed on many occasions at various events, such as live stage shows in Station Cinema, festivals, Ballroom dancing or even for the private parties of the air base’s Air Officers Commanding, Zac always played the first dancing lead Alto Saxophone and doubled with Clarinet and was liked and highly respected by his English band colleagues.