Jazz, Ethnic & World music
Mashausha (pronounced "Mashawsha") is an Israeli colorful blend between jazz and a variety of ethnic influences – Jewish, Arab, Gypsy, Balkan and Indian. The music is all original, written by Gady Tsikman (Guitars) and Avi Mazor (Piano), and although it combines melodies and rhythms that sound like ethnic music from countries all over the Mediterranean, when it is performed by this unique band, it turns into something fresh and different. As in other jazz albums, the music recorded live at the studio, and the pieces are plentiful with solo's which are preformed by the musicians.
On November 2010 Mashausha project had won a grant of the Israeli Ministry of Culture in order to produce a CD, and on April 2011 the band recorded this project, and got another grant from ACUM - The Israeli Corporation of Artists rights. On January 2012 Mashausha started to perform in Israel.
Members of Mashausha
Erez, Monk (Tabla, Darbuka, percussions)
One of Israel's leading percussionists and Tabla players. As a young rock drummer Erez arrived to India and fell in love with the Tabla drums. He spent few years studying with Pt. Dr. Ramnarayan Banavat, then came back to Israel specializing in Mediterranean ethnic music percussion and world music. Erez has been the percussionist of many world music productions both in Israel and abroad and has played all over the world in large festivals and corsets. Some of the artists he worked with are Jordi Savall, Glykeria, Yair Dalal, Taicir Elias, Yasmin Levi, Shlomo Gronich, Ehud Banay, Mashina, Etti Ankri, Dudu Tasa, and Erez Lev-Ari.
Ofer Peled (Flute and Soprano Sax.)
Ofer is a leading figure in the Israeli jazz and world music scene. He began his studies in the Jazz department of Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. Then, he traveled to India to study Bansuri flute and Indian music with master Pandit Sohan Lal. In 2006 he moved to New York, worked and preformed with great musicians such as African Blue Notes and Grammy-award winning trumpet player Frank London ("The Klezmatics" founder and band leader). After playing with Israeli Jazz legends Avi Lebovich and Grammy nominated percussionist Gilad Dobrecky , as well as triple platinum selling artists Shalom Hanoch, Yehudit Ravitz and David D'or, he founded his own solo project "Ararat", where he melds together world music such as Arabic, Turkish, Gypsy Balkan, African and Indian music, side by side with a Jazzy unrestricted approach.
Eli Khentov (Violin)
Eli was born in 1981 in Leningrad, and moved to Israel in 1990. As a child he played the violin for many years and became a classical player. In time he started to get interested in jazz, and as a young autodidact and a quick learner, he studied just from listening to greatest jazz musicians and violin players. Few years ago he moved to Czech Republic and Netherlands, there he preformed and recorded with some of the local musician. After a year he came back to Israel worked with some of the leading musicians of jazz and world music, like Ariel Lazarus whom he recorded with, and recently preformed in Israel and in Germany.
Assaf Hakimi (Bass)
In 2002 Assaf received a scholarship for outstanding performance and ability from the New School University jazz program. Soon after, he was chosen to represent the New School as part of the jazz outreach program. He has had the honor to work and share the band stand with some of today's best jazz musicians, performing in New York City's most prestigious jazz clubs. In 2008 he recorded his debut album "Some Other Day".
Dani Benedikt (Drums)
Dani is a leading figure in Israeli jazz scene and one of the best jazz drummers. He played with many jazz and world music musicians in Israel such as Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Itamar Erez & Adama Ensemble, Hagiga Sextet and Anat Fort (ECM records) whom he recorded with recently his own music.
Avi Mazor (Producer)
Pianist, composer
Avi was born in Jerusalem in 1969. He graduated Rubin Academy of Music as a jazz pianist, and started the Music Therapy program (MA) in Bar-Ilan University. As a child of a known Israeli researcher (Ya'akov Mazor) in Jewish ethnic music, he had been exposed to many kind of Jewish ethnic music, and as he grew up he became interested in world music in general. Today, Avi is working as a Jazz Department Coordinator in Raanana Music Center, and as a Music Therapist in Shalvata Mental Health Center, and in his own private clinic. He gives work-shops of improvisation for pianist, clinic songwriting for music therapists, and music therapy work-shops for social workers. Along these years he participated in number of jazz and rock bands, where he met Gady.
Gady Tsikman (Producer)
Guitarist, Composer
Gady was born in 1972 in Ukraine. He started his studies at "Contemporary Music College" of Odessa, and after he moved to Israel he graduated the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel-Aviv University as a classical guitar player, and Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music - an affiliate of Berkley School of Music in Boston - as a jazz player. Along the years he participated in many music productions such as in an Israeli Opera Production, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and The Kibbutz Artzi Choir, and worked with many artists such as Ester Ofarim and Yossi Banay. Today He works as a music teacher in Raanana Music Center and in The Democratic School of Hadera.
On November 2004 Gady and Avi established together the band "Emillia's Time" with Michal Shapira as the vocal leader. They won the 2007 scholarship of the Israeli Ministry of Culture, and produced the first album of the band – "Sa Oti Barua'ah".
From the album's review: Michal Shapira "is revealed as a jazz singer with sprinkles of Black American pepper and a variety of singing styles that fill the contents that "Emilia's Time" represent ….. to have respect for an ensemble like "Emilia's Time", a young band that is not afraid to produce an entire album of vintage, romantic jazz with modern elements, paying no attention to the average ear and contemporary pop. Such an ensemble deserves the appropriate recognition at least from jazz fan and people who appreciate unique Israeli creativity." (Nadav Hoffman, "Sketch Plus", January 2010)
Since then Gady and Avi perform all over Israel with Emillia's Time, and work insistently on Mashausha music materials.
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