M e l a n g e
The New Middle East .....and beyond..
Shirley Smart -Cello
Soufian Saihi - Oud
Cellist Shirley Smart has had a varied and unusual career. After a brief period of study in London, where she performed with the LSO and gave a concert of trios with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the Barbican, she left the UK for Jerusalem. Although she initially went for a year, Shirley became involved with a great many musical projects, and met many musicians and friends, and ended up staying for 10 years. She joined Moroccan jazz fusion group Sound of the Ground - the result of a chance meeting in a Jerusalem restaurant, which led to many other projects playing Arabic, Oriental and North African music with groups including Sabreen, Tarshika Orchestra, Khaled Jubran, Radio Effendi, al-Farabi Trio, Maurice El-Mediouni, and oud players Bilal Irshed, Haytham Safia and Nizar Rohana. She also studied jazz improvisation on cello and piano at the Jerusalem Centre Creative Music, run by saxophone player Arnie Lawrence, and subsequently joined his both band, and several other jazz fusion projects. She has toured most of Europe, Russia, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, including performances at the Jerash Festival, Jordan and International Oud festival in Tetouan, Morocco as well as playing all over Israel and Palestine ( and occasionally getting caught in the crossfire….).
Shirley also studied musicology and English Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was a tutor of Cello for several years at the Edward Said Conservatory of Music in Ramallah. She acted on several occasions as a deputy teacher of Cello at the Tel Aviv Conservatory of Music, and now teaches Musicianship at the Royal College of Music Junior Department in London. She speaks Hebrew and Arabic, and keeps making doomed attempts to learn French.
Now resident in London, Shirley continues to be active on the developing World Music scene. In addition to Melange, Shirley performs regularly with Komsos Ensemble, with whom she has performed at festivals around the UK and Jersey, and with Indian ghazaal singer Sanjeev Loomba. She also recently formed a jazz quartet, and is composing music for folk-jazz group Courtly Lovers – a new project formed with singer Alice Zawadski and guitarist Christian Miller.
Peter Michaels -Guitar
Peter Michaels is a highly versatile musician and composer. He has made an extensive study of Brazilian music, especially choro and also plays with the band Pocket Caravan.
soufian
Yazz Ahmed -Trumpet
Joe Browne - Saxophone
Tipped as a rising star by Jazzwise and Time Out, Yazz won great reviews for her debut at Ronnie Scott’s, leading her own quintet and in opening the Jazz In The Round series at the Cockpit Theatre with her vibraphone and bass trio.
Yazz has also performed with her quartet, featuring Lewis Wright, at the Vortex, and the National Portrait Gallery.
She has played alongside Toshiko Akiyoshi, Rufus Reid, Kenny Wheeler, Steve Williamson and Sir John Dankworth. She works regularly with the London Jazz Orchestra, Tomorrow’s Warriors and Jazz Jamaica.
In 2012, Yazz represented Bahrain in the Cultural Olympiad, joining renowned musicians from the Arabian Gulf in collaboration with Transglobal Underground. This project, ‘In Transit’, was supported by the British Council and has performed in Dubai and London.
Later this year she will be involved in a cultural exchange project, ‘Interplay’, working with musicians from Britain and Sweden as a composer and performer.
Yazz has recorded and performed with, Max Romeo, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the Manic Street Preachers, Swing Out Sister, Twiggy and the Urban Soul Orchestra.
Yazz plays flugelhorn on Radiohead’s album The King of Limbs and The King Of Limbs, Live From The Basement, which was screened worldwide during July 2011.
Yazz’s album, Finding My Way Home, featuring bass virtuoso, Janek Gwizdala and clarinetist, Shabaka Hutchings, was released in August 2011. The album is a collection of original compositions and improvisations, exploring the sounds and rhythms of Yasmeen’s Arabic heritage, revisiting memories from her early childhood in Bahrain. These are contrasted with pieces reflecting the classic British jazz from the 1950s and 60s, which was the soundtrack to her teenage years and was her gateway into improvised music.
Gary Crosby OBE included Finding My Way Home in his top five releases of 2011.
Peter Michaels
Peter Michaels (Guitar) is a highly versatile musician and composer. He has made an extensive study of Brazilian music, especially choro and also plays with the band Pocket Caravan.
Originally from Barcelona, Demi moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue his ambition of becoming a professional musician. Since graduating from the London College of Music, Demi now works full time as a freelance drummer and percussionist. Demi specialises in Flamenco music, Jazz, Pop...He performs regularly with great musicians such as Alec Dankworth, Nicolas Meier, Kuljit Bhamra, La Tipica, Melange, Flamenco Soul, Jorge Bravo...
Hailing from Derry in Northern ireland Dermot grew up in a rich irish folk tradition; playing electric bass, guitar and singing as a teenage in irish traditional/folk/ rock and blues bands before studying at North Down and Ards institute under Brian Irvine (winner in the 2003 BBC Jazz Awards) arguable one of Irelands most prolific contemporary composers.
Following his time studying with Irvine Dermot studied an undergraduate gaining a first class hons degree in Newcastle university before studying his masters at the prestigious Guildhall School and Drama in London where he studied under Martin Hathaway, Malcomb Edmonstone, Michael Janisch, Trevor tompkins, Steve Watts but to name a few.
Dermot works extensively as a jazz bassist and composer of his own trio and quartet as well as collaberating with other up and coming talented contemporary musicians on the jazz and world music scene in and around London.
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Joe
Demi Garcia Sabat - Percussion/Drums
Dermot McNeill - Bass
Hailing from Derry in Northern ireland Dermot grew up in a rich irish folk tradition; playing electric bass, guitar and singing as a teenage in irish traditional/folk/ rock and blues bands before studying at North Down and Ards institute under Brian Irvine (winner in the 2003 BBC Jazz Awards) arguable one of Irelands most prolific contemporary composers.
Following his time studying with Irvine Dermot studied an undergraduate gaining a first class hons degree in Newcastle university before studying his masters at the prestigious Guildhall School and Drama in London where he studied under Martin Hathaway, Malcomb Edmonstone, Michael Janisch, Trevor tompkins, Steve Watts but to name a few.
Dermot works extensively as a jazz bassist and composer of his own trio and quartet as well as collaberating with other up and coming talented contemporary musicians on the jazz and world music scene in and around London.
Originally from Barcelona, Demi moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue his ambition of becoming a professional musician. Since graduating from the London College of Music, Demi now works full time as a freelance drummer and percussionist. Demi specialises in Flamenco music, Jazz, Pop...He performs regularly with great musicians such as Alec Dankworth, Nicolas Meier, Kuljit Bhamra, La Tipica, Melange, Flamenco Soul, Jorge Bravo
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