From the Live Record, "The Mediterranean Piano", Recorded at the Felicja Blumental Music Center, TLV.

Liner Notes: 
"What started as a personal research endeavor has led to a journey of discovery. Discovery of some profoundly rich cultures, of an incredibly complicated history and of a fine line tightly connecting these 3 nations. This journey has encompassed the stories of many musical heroes and styles; from Rebetiko - the Greek Blues, to Ottoman music from the Sultan’s courtyard, through Roza Eskenazi, the Greek Jewish singer from Istanbul, to Israeli cultural icons such as Yehuda Poliker, Arik Einstein and many more. 

One of the most fascinating manifestations to those inner connections are the dozens, if not hundreds, of “shared” melodies that have been passed around the area along the years. Be it from the Jewish Synagogue to the “Teke” of Thessaloniki or from Istanbul’s Coffee houses to the Israeli Radio, gaining new lyrics and meanings at each time & place. The raw sense of human emotion that exists in these melodies is remarkable and reveals a strong message of unity between the 3 cultures. 

Never have I realized how sadly relevant this message would be in the context of the horrifying reality of Summer 2014, Israel. I certainly didn’t imagine that the concert would be born into such circumstance. But, it is especially at such moments that I firmly believe in music’s ability to make a positive contribution. With it’s transformative power, music can at the least offer our soul a well-needed momentarily relief or at most, help us all imagine reality as it could have been, and as it hopefully will be one day soon. On that regard, I’m suggesting my humble contribution in that area and warmly welcome you to join me on this one hour journey that it’s intention is to bring us closer. closer to whatever it is we need to be closer to.

With much love and hope,

Guy Mintus."


Selections from Rebetiko & Greek Folk

Parts of a 3 segments original piece by Guy Mintus feat. Zayn Mohammed on Oud and Guitar (England/ Doobai), Bam Bam Rodriguez on Bass (Venezuella) and Phillipe Lemm on Drums (Holland), to be released on Video in 2015, please stay tuned and sign in through Guymintus.com!

Sneak Preview

"David & Saul" - Biblical Scenery for Orchestra and Narrator  by Guy Mintus.
Performed by the MSM Jazz Philharmonic under the conduction of Jim McNeely, Soloist Maria Manousaki, Percussionist Mathias Kunzli, Narrator Paul Hecht, Sound Engineer Danilo Pichardo. 

"David & Saul" - Biblical Scenery for Orchestra and Narrator

Composed by Guy Mintus
Performed by the Guy Mintus trio feat. Tamir Shmerling & Philippe Lemm.
The Manhattan School of Music Philharmonic conducted by Mike Holober

The Drop & the Ocean -  for Piano Trio & Orchestra

Guy Mintus - Piano & Composition
Yinon Muallem - Percussion

Offlines

"Dream On” - 4 Mov. Suite for Wind Quintet by Guy Mintus

1. In the Still of the Night 
2. Inside Our Heads
3. Persistence 
4. Piano Interlude & Something to Dream On


Text 1st &4th Mov. by Guy Mintus
Text 3rd Mov. by Albert Camus

Windternational Quintet 

Peter Arsfen - Flute
Ivy Laine Gines - Oboe
Miguel Ruiz Santos - Clarinet 
Stephanie Hollander - French Horn
Gabriela Gonzales - Bassoon 

Guest performance by Guy Mintus on piano



About the piece:

Dream On is a piece that deals with the notion of dreams. I dedicate it to all of those who have dreamed and realized something in their lives. It was written from within the complexity of a period of life in which on the one hand wonderful things has been happening and some long-time dreams has been becoming reality while at the same time great pressure, self doubt and a sense of an ever increasing challenged was felt too.

The different movements, describe different stages in the re-incarnation of dreams: "In the Still of the Night", describes the stage in which they're often born, "Inside Our Heads",  describes the processing process of an idea, multi tasking, being overwhelmed and often distracted by the many different facets involved. "Persistance" is about pushing through even when the times are rough and no progress seems to be made. The last movement, "Something to Dream On" is about that moment you realize, something you've dreamed of for a long time has now become your common reality and that it's time to move on to the next dream.

Expanding on the idea that everything that occurs in our lives is a projection of our thoughts and that dreams the extensions of our thoughts themselves, I started writing the text for the piece, being the first time I write a text myself to one of my pieces. The text often alludes to several thinkers and cultural heroes I carry with me all the time including Albert Camus, Rumi, Buddha and Martin Luther King Jr. 


"Dream On” - 4 Mov. Suite for Wind Quintet by Guy Mintus

Our Journey Together

Portrait of a Moroccan Cantor singing about Love or Memories from a Place I’ve Never Been is a personal journey to be perceived it as an open love letter to Morocco and to my late Grandfather, Albert Elharrar who was born in Casablanca, 1937 and passed away four years ago. The inspiration is taken from Chapter 8, Verse 7 of “Song of the Songs” wherein King Solomon, speaks about the tremendous power of love, comparing it to a fire that cannot be washed away even by the greatest rivers or to something that cannot be replaced or fixed even by the greatest fortunes in the world.  After several trips to old cassette stores in some very religious parts of Israel, I found a version of the verse that moved me the most being sang by a Moroccan Cantor. While writing, the image of my late grandfather kept coming up,  particularly his singing of the Shabbat dinner prayer I heard almost weekly while growing up.  

Ornaments, small fragments and key landing points in the Cantor’s lines as well as my own musical reflection of the text has become the “bread and butter” of the piece providing its main themes, motives and textural ingredients. The vocal element is apparent as well as usage of the Makammat (the middle eastern modal system), Moroccan Shaabi rhythms, aleatoric techniques and a transcription of the memory of my late grandfather singing the Shabbat prayer melody that is turned into a fugue – all of which wrapped by the words of the verse as an envelope for the entire endeavor.

Portrait Of A Morrocan Cantor Singing About Love - Excerpts

4th Track off of the Guy Mintus Trio debut album "A Home In Between" inspired by the famous Greek Dance - Zeybekiko.

04 Zeybekiko For The Brave

The wonder of music is that it allows us to tap into a dimension where things are more connected than they may at first seem. Zohar Argov, Horace Silver, Rumi, Fairouz, an Italian neighborhood in NY and a city in Uzbekistan - these are just some of the people and places that have inspired this album. This recording embodies an idea I’ve been exploring for some time - the idea that everything is connected. Just as we all have noses, mouths, eyes and ears - these inspirations share many of their own fundamental structures. This allowed us to bring in our own palette and process these songs through our own life experiences and our own voices. 

Connecting the dots of our multi-layered identities and different cultures has been therapeutic, and we hope this can inspire you to join us, and to extend these connections even further. 

                                                                                       GM, Sept’ 2018 

Credits: Mix: Avri Borochov, Graphic Design: ALVA DESGIN, Artwork: Albino Papa, Susana Bastos, Clara Oliveira, Photo: Ashley Chui, Translation for Hunt Music: Coleman Barks, Recorded at Skillman Studios, Brooklyn, NY, November 2017.

Guy Mintus

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