Ephrem J, Dutch Caribbean Singer Ephrem J went solo at the end of 2006 after winning 4 Premio Karabela and nominated as the best singer in 2006. He launched his first album as a solist in july 2007 and ahd a succesfull concert at the end of september 2007. Ephrem J's band is all about slow groove, ballads and Latin R&B with a splash of jazzy musicEphrem Jonathan Ocalia was born in Curacao on November 24, 1984. His father, Ephrem Ocalia Sr., sang and was his first inspiration as a child. Ephrem J started his singing try-outs as most children does, participating in local talent shows. He was soon discovered as a talented young singer and started to sing at a very young age in local bands. While attending school he continued singing in local bands like the OK-band and got guidance by experienced singers, although he remains a largely self-taught singer. Than, he dropped out of school, soon quit the OK Band and became the lead singer of the local band Guess, singing mostly "ritmo kombin�¡", a local popular dance music. At the end of 2006 Ephrem J was the most credited local young artist in Curacao. He received several awards for best male voice and local singer of the year and became the preferred entertainment singer for private birthday parties, wedding parties and the like. Highly inspired by singers as Luther Vandross and other American and Latin American vocalists, Ephrem J quit the band Guess, only to start his solo career early 2007. At that moment, Ephrem J had several compositions- written by him while day dreaming about his future- of ballads, latin R&B and slow groove songs and approached Jazz musicians Gregory Colina and Gedeon Chandler, to arrange the songs musically. He then entered the recording studio and soon released his first album as a soloist. Both the cover song "Speransa" (hope) and "Stimabu So" reached the local radio charts. Meanwhile Ephrem J was the focus during two concerts and got very busy days as singer for many private celebrations. He also entered the world of commercials, singing a local jingle for a popular brand of condom, appearing on a billboard for a jeans pants company and on several advertisement posters. His popularity grew even more among the local community and was again credited as a vocalist at the end of 2007 receiving several awards, one of which was the "Edgar Supriano-prize" by the national association of musicians and artists, AMAK, as singer of the year. In 2008 he started the year again with big impact, participating at the carnival's Tumba Festival with one of the most popular bands Gio Fuertisimo and got recognition again, as the third finalist among more than 60 participants. Currently, Ephrem J is working on his international album, with some nice ballads, slow rock and Tropical music in the Spanish language. His solo career got highlighted this year when he got the gig to sing with the Marine Band of the Royal Marines (a harmonic orchestra) in Willemstad. In November 2008 he released his first international album "Lating Evolution". Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.