Our
Story | The Band in Concert|
Ensemble
Member Biographies
“One
of Boston's most original world-music acts.”
— Boston Herald
“The
glory of what [Mendilow] does is finding a common ground among different
cultures. And that’s what makes his music so exciting.”
— Jewish Advocate
Led
by Israeli composer/performer Guy Mendilow, this spirited quintet breaks
down musical boundaries with an inventive blend of Israeli and Sephardi
with Bahian street beats and blues. “Mendilow is no dilettante,”
writes the Boston Phoenix. “He learned the music
of these countries by living and working there — so when he sings
… he knows what he’s talking about.”
Performing
in Hebrew, Arabic, Ladino, Portuguese and English, the band skillfully
fuses tradition with a contemporary sound. Alongside lush vocal harmonies,
woodwinds and strings, the five members of the Guy Mendilow Band create
intricate textures with berimbaus, percussion, jaw harps that would
make beat-boxers’ jaws drop, and Mendilow’s award-winning
overtone singing. The group’s appeal reaches far beyond world
music audiences only. As Rich Warren, host of WFMT- Chicago’s
nationally syndicated Midnight Special, remarks: “We
normally don't offer ‘world’ music, but Guy and his band
offered a delicious taste of it. Their musicianship, versatility, and
originality were most impressive. Our audience left raving about their
talent and the sound of their music. They were mesmerizing.”
The group’s
message is coming through loud and clear. The Guy Mendilow Band performs
in theaters such as New York’s Tribeca Performing Arts
Center and at some of the US’s most established festivals
like the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the Philadelphia
Folk Festival, Chicago World Music Festival
and Musikfest. Mendilow’s innovative workshops,
residencies and teacher trainings, focusing on improvisation as a tool
for communication, have led to ongoing collaborations with cutting-edge
international social justice organizations like Seeds of Peace
and to invitations to present at schools and conferences across the
United States and Brazil.
The Guy
Mendilow Band is now touring its third album, Skyland (released September
8, 2009), throughout the United States and Canada.
(Photo
Credit: Craig Harris)
