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| The tour
in Israel - June 2007 |
| Tue,
Jul. 31 2007 |
My dear friends and
listeners!
Some of you don't know this, but I
haven't performed in Israel for the past 13 years.
I
just came back from a tour there..
And what
can I tell you - It was an A M A Z I N G tour for me!
So
heart- warming, so moving, so much love, so much fun,
such
a PHENOMENAL band that I absolutely loved, loved loved,
wonderful
production team and management that I wish for every
artist to have, so much exciting happenings, and the
most moving of all :
The
E N E R G Y - the emotions that the audience expressed
back to me, the warm embrace I received from the people
in my country for doing this,
and
for being me..
I
feel so blessed!
Thanks to
those who were there, to all of you who wrote and called
to express so many wonderful, meaningful feelings, to
bless, to express so much love. You made this truly
unforgettable for me! ~ I want to thank my amazing
Israeli-band who moved me with their artistry and
beautiful energies and with whom I enjoyed working
tremendously: Noam Chen, Gilad Efrat, Otni Oron, Nir
Sarussi, Arik Levi, David Tzur, Michael Gottlieb, Ori
Nave and Roi Raz. I also want to thank from the bottom
of my heart to my dedicated and professional production
and management team: Ifat Frenkel- Zeelim, Dalia Maroz
and Mina Zeelim, who did so much for me. I want to thank
my family who went out of their way with love, help and
support and also to many more wonderful people who
helped in numerous aspects and who cared dearly- THANK
YOU ALL SO VERY VERY MUCH!!!
For my Israeli
audience and friends- here are some words in
Hebrew:
סבוב ההופעות
בישראל היה חוויה מרגשת ומחבקת ביותר עבורי! באמת שאין כמו
להופיע בבית אני מודה לכל מי שהיה שם, (חלככם באתם ממש
מרחוק) ואני עדיין נפעמת מהמילים המרגשות, האוהבות
והמפרגנות כל- כך שאמרתם ושלחתם, מהחיבוק האדיר,
מהעזרה...
אני רוצה להודות שוב גם לנגנים המשובחים,
היקרים, המרגשים שנגנו איתי שכל-כך אהבתי ונהנתי מכל רגע
איתם: נעם חן, גלעד אפרת, אורי נוה,עותני אורון, מיכאל
גוטליב, ניר סרוסי, אריק לוי, דוד צור ורועי
רז.
רוצה להודות גם להפקה והנהול המסורים כל-כך של
יפעת פרנקל-צאלים וכן ליחצנות המצויינת של דליה מרוז,
ולעזרה הענקית של מינה צאלים המרגשת. למשפחה שלי שהתעלתה
על עצמה, ולעוד רבים וטובים שעזרו המון והיה להם כל-כך
אכפת- תודה אמיתית וכנה מקרב לב!!
אני אשוב לארץ,
כך זה נראה, ואף בקרוב, אז שמרו על קשר ועל אנרגיה טובה
ונתראה בקרוב!!
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| Sun,
Mar. 11 2007 |
Summertime Debka'
wins First Place in
2006 Billboard
Song Contest
and 'Come
Into My Life' is the GRAND PRIZE
WINNER in a Singer/Songwriter Contest in
London!
I'm so happy to share
with you that my song 'Summertime
Debka', was
judged first place in this year’s
BillboardSong Contest in the
World Music category. This is the second time one of my
songs wins first prize in the
Billboard's Song Contest. (“Yo
M’enamori” won in 2004).
'Come Into My
Life' was announced THE GRAND
PRIZE WINNER of the Singer/Songwriter competition 2007,
conducted by "We are Listening", an artist-development
company in London.
This contest has
some very impressive judges on its board such as : Scott
Gunter (Universal Music Publishing), British producer/
programmer KK( Bjork, Santana, Dido, Nelly Furtado,
Yusef Islam, Natalie Imbruglia), British
producer/composer Steve Williams( Sting, Seal, Eric
Clapton, Freddie Mercury, Britney Spears, Lisa
Stansfield, Paul Young, Human League, Roxette), Film
Composer/songwriter Charlie Mole( Othello, High Heels
and Lowlifes, An Ideal Husband), Film
Composer/Producer/programmer Frank Ilfman( Marianne
Faithfull, Duran Duran, PollyannaFrank, KT Tunstall and
Oi Va Voi ), judges from the film industry such as Carly
Vermes from Paramount Pictures, Thomas Scherer from BMG
Music-Publishing and also faculty from Berklee College
Of Music: Jimmy Kachulis, Jack Perricone and many other
judges that I won't name all of them but you can read
about in: http://www.wearelistening.org/judges.php
This prestigious honor
brings me to London for a weekend for a recording
session in a state-of-the-art studio with an expert
Production Team. In addition , my song will be given
extensive promotion.
• For the recording of
these songs( and a third one) I was fortunate to join
creative forces with producer Stephen Webber
(Aaron
Neville, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lindsey Mac) to produce a
three-song demo, prelude to a future album. You can
listen to all three songs on Sonicbids
Much appreciation to my fine former Boston band
members who recorded this with me : Marissa Licata, Javier
Caballero, Kelly Roberge, Danny Ori and
Ronen
Evron and to my NY and Israeli musicians: Emmanuel
Mann, Octavio Brunetti, Dan Nadel and Noam
Chen! I also want to thank my friend,producer/composer/Aztec
percussionist Alferdo
Villela ( Meredith Monk) for helping me through out
the years in many aspects of my music from mixing and
consulting to editing and recording.
• Next news…
I am preparing for my
upcoming tour in Israel which will happen this
June! Check for email from me very soon with exact dates
and venues. Meanwhile, I send warm thanks to my hard
working manager and booking agent,
Ifat
Frenkel.
•
Like the changing seasons, autumn & winter have been
a time of transition for me and my music. Last October,
after thirteen years in Boston, I moved to the New-York
area with my husband, Gill. So far, it’s been a
multi-dimensional experience. I‘m still learning my way
around, re-establishing my band and looking for unique
opportunities for artistic collaborations and intriguing
projects (NY musicians-take note!).
Now it is spring
and
new music is stirring in my soul..
Stay
tuned.
Tami
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| 'Ainadamar'- Fountain of
tears |
| Tue,
Jan. 10 2006 |
|
"The music is
sensationally beautiful throughout." - The New Yorker -
This
month I will be performing for the second time in this
most moving, beautiful and dramatic opera, composed by
Osvaldo Golijov. 'Ainadamar' (Fountain of tears) was
premiered in 2003 in Tanglewood with soloists Dawn
Upshaw (Soprano) and Kelley O'Connor(Mezzo-soprano). It
was performed again in Feb. 2004 at the Disney Hall in
L.A. with the L.A. Philharmonic. For the performance in
L.A I was invited by the composer to take part in the
opera, singing in an ensemble of 6 women that
accompanies the soloists and has a very active role in
the opera. The nature of this vocal part is somewhat
less ‘classical’ and calls for some elements of “street
singing,” as the composer describes it. In 2005 a new
production of the opera, directed by the renowned Peter
Sellars, premiered at the Santa Fe Opera with the above
soloists. This January ‘Ainadamar,’ again under the
direction of Peter Sellars with the Santa Fe Opera and
the same soloists will premier in NY, and again I will
be taking my previous role in the ensemble. Three
performances (Jan22,24 and 26) and lots of rehearsals
are keeping us all very busy and I enjoy every minute of
it. I can’t even start describing how emotional this
whole story and whole opera is. It is absolutely moving,
almost heart breaking to be in the presence of the
totality of all the soloists and of Peter Sellars. The
ensemble role is always changing (reflecting different
aspects in the story) and is extremely physical. It is
influenced by the dances of Martha Graham that Peter
created. The whole experience and the close work with
the fantastic and magnetizing Dawn Upshaw, Kelly
O’Connor and, of course, Peter Sellars is an experience
I couldn’t imagine. I am so happy and excited to be part
of this opera again. Osvaldo’s music is absolutely
haunting and magnetizing. Wait till you hear and see
it.
The
story:
‘Ainadamar’ is an Opera
in Three Images. Emerging from darkness, the mythic
world of Federico Garc쟠Lorca comes into being. The sound
of horses in the wind, the endless flow of the fountain
of tears ("Ainadamar"), and the trumpet call of wounded
freedom, the aspiration and determination that have been
denied for generations echo across the hills.
First
Image: MARIANA
Teatro
Sol챬 Montevideo, Uruguay, April 1969. The voices of
little girls sing the opening ballad of Lorca's play
Mariana Pineda. The actress Margarita Xirgu looks back
across forty years since she gave the premiere of this
daring play by a brilliant young author. In the last
minutes of the last day of her life, she tries to convey
to her brilliant young student Nuria, the fire, the
passion, and the hope of her generation that gave birth
to the Spanish Republic. She flashes back to her first
meeting with Lorca in a bar in Madrid. Lorca tells her
that the freedom in his play is not only political
freedom, and sings a rhapsodic aria that opens the world
of imagination, a world inspired by the sight of the
statue of Mariana Pineda that he saw as a child in
Granada. Mariana was martyred in 1831 for sewing a
revolutionary flag and refusing to reveal the names of
the revolutionary leaders, including her lover. Her
lover deserted her, and she wrote a serenely composed
final letter to her children explaining her need to die
with dignity. Margarita reflects on the parallel fates
of Mariana and Federico. The reverie is shattered by the
call of Ramón Ruiz Alonso, the falangist who arrested
and executed Lorca in August of 1936.
Second
Image: FEDERICO
The
ballad of Mariana Pineda sounds again, taking Margarita
back to the summer of 1936, the last time she saw
Federico. The young Spanish Republic is under attack:
the rise of the nationalist generals has begun, there
are daily strikes and massacres. Margarita's theater
company is embarking on a tour of Cuba. She begs
Federico to come. He decides to go home to Granada
instead, to work on new plays and poetry. No one knows
the details of Lorca's murder. Margarita has a vision of
his final hour: the opportunist Ruiz Alonso arresting
Lorca in Granada and leading him to the solitary place
of execution, Ainadamar, the fountain of tears, with a
bullfighter and a teacher. The three of them are made to
confess their sins. Then they are shot. Two thousand one
hundred and thirty seven people were murdered in Granada
between July 26, 1936, and March 1, 1939. The death of
Lorca was an early signal to the world.
Third
Image: MARGARITA
For the third time we
hear the ballad of Mariana Pineda. One more time the
play is about to begin, the story retold for the
generation of Margarita's Latin American students.
Margarita knows she is dying. She cannot make her
entrance, others must go on. As her heart gives way, she
tells Nuria that an actor lives for a moment, that an
actor's individual voice is silenced, but that the hope
of a people will not die. The fascists have ruled Spain
for more than thirty years. Franco has never permitted
Margarita Xirgu, the image of freedom, to set foot on
Spanish soil. Margarita has kept the plays of Lorca
alive in Latin America while they were forbidden in
Spain. The spirit of Lorca enters the room. He takes
Margarita's hand, and he takes Nuria's hand. Together
they enter a blazing sunset of delirious, visionary
transformation. Margarita dies, offering her life to
Mariana Pineda's final lines: I am freedom. Her courage,
her clarity, and her humanity are passed on to Nuria,
her students, and the generations that follow. She sings
"I am the fountain from which you drink."
We drink deeply.
Music by Osvaldo
Golijob
Libretto by David Henry
Hwang
Miguel Harth-Bedoya -
Conductor
Dawn Upshaw - Soprano
Kelley O'Connor -
Mezzo-soprano
Peter Sellars - Director
Jessica Rivera - soprano
Gronk - scenic design
Gabriel Berry - costume
design
James F. Ingalls -
lighting design
For more information about
the Lincoln Center Performances: http://www.lincolncenter.org/search/results.asp?txtKeywod=golijov
For
more info about Osvaldo Golijov: http://www.osvaldogolijov.com
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| LEVANTE
- BOSTON AND NEW YORK CD RELEASE Concerts |
| Sun,
Aug. 14 2005 |
My
NEW YORK and Boston CD RELEASE CONCERS took place on
June and July and were very successful. Thanks to all of
you who came and to the great reviews and feedbacks you
gave us. I was very happy to reunite with the gifted
guitarist Julio Santillan after two years and to have
the privilege to perform with one of Israel's top bass
players Emmanuel Mann. My deepest thanks to my beloved
ensemble who were absolutely shining.
To
read articles about Tami Machnai:
http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=280and
click "Press"
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| Welcome! |
| Sat,
May. 14 2005 |
FINALLY! I�m very pleased
to announce that after a very long labor my new CD
�Levante� is out in the world.
Levante is not only the fruit of
almost nine long months of recording, mixing, editing
and mastering, it actually dates back almost four years
when I started to record a few tracks that are now being
used in the final version. In those four years I have
performed many of the songs that are now on the CD. I
feel that some of them grew and developed significantly,
and so did I. I also kept writing new music, some of it
found its way to the CD as well.
In Spanish,
Levante is the name of an eastern wind that flows
with the sands of the desert. I first came across this
name in Paulo Coelho�s, �The Alchemist�, one of
my most admired books. It also refers to the eastern
regions of Valencia and Murcia
in Spain, a Mediterranean enclave mid-way between
the Meseta and Andalusia, which,
along with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula was the
area where Sephardic culture originated and flourished
hundreds of years ago.
You get the idea right?
The Levante is bringing for me the
Sephardic essence and melodies from the desert� so to
speak.
The year 2002 saw the formation of The
Tami Machnai Ensemble. Its members, my extended family,
are extremely dear to my heart and their playing on this
CD is pure, soulful, genuine and beautiful. The
musicians in my ensemble are Yi Chen
Chang-violin, Ro�i Raz- guitar, Javier
Caballero- cello, Taki Masuko -percussion,
Kelly Roberge - Clarinet, Lydios Dhami-
Acoustic bass and Octavio Brunetti- accordion.
Additionally, Levante features some truly gifted and
amazing guest musicians who honored me with their
participation. These musicians are Julio Santillan on
classical guitar (http://www.juliosantillan.com/),
Jonathan �Juanito� Pascual on Classical guitar
(http://www.jpascual.com), Nikola Radan on alto
flute
(http://www.balmus.com), Noam Chen from Israel on
hand percussion and Ori Nave from Israel on hand
percussion. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! Most of the tracks
in Levante were recorded in �Clear Perceptions� studio,
Boston, MA by Adrian Hernandez (http://www.clear-perceptions.com/)
who also completed most of the mix. It was then mixed
further and pre-mastered at Looking Glass� studio
(http://www.glassnyc.com) in New York, NY (owned by
Phillip Glass), by Ichiho Nishki and Sam Crawford. It
was mastered by Dave Lock, JP Masters in Seattle, WA (http://www.jpmasters.com/).
Behind the scenes stood an amazing person, Alfredo
Villela (http://www.musecycle.com/),
who was the sound consultant, my right hand, my
ever-present friend, my brother. Alfredo also brought on
board the renowned producer Garius Hill and
together they contributed enormously to the mixing and
mastering process. Thank you all dear people!!
�Giving birth� to Levante is
unbelievably moving to me. In my eyes it is much more
then a CD. The perseverance that it took to capture my
vision completely within the recording tested my inner
strength at times, but ultimately recording this music
made my spirit soar and I am very proud of it.
I
am in hopes that this work will penetrate the hearts and
evoke the emotions of its listeners. It is my desire to
bring beauty to this world. Lots of beauty.
Yours,
Tami
Machnai
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