Album Notes

Jay Mankita
..."one of the half dozen best songwriters today!" - Pete Seeger

A masterful guitarist and singer/songwriter - Jay Mankita is quirky, original, and rooted in the traditions of acoustic folk and Americana music, from blues to bluegrass, from ragtime to country swing. A natural entertainer, Jay has been playing in clubs, coffeehouses and festivals for over 25 years.
His songs are journeys through the human condition, sung with honesty, compassion, and humorous insight. Jay's concerts are moving and intimate; provocative, irreverently funny, and musically refreshing.

This album, 'Dog's Are Watching Us', is an album that really swings! It's a collection of live and studio cuts, a rousing and humorous collection of some of the funniest folk music today, both preposterous and political, from George Bush to Captain Kirk, from Illegal Aliens to the lighter side of Death, the true meaning of cliches, and the eternal hunger of dogs.

Jay's songs have appeared in Sing Out! Magazine, been heard on both NPR and Pacifica Radio, and have been performed and recorded by national touring artists such as Kim and Reggie Harris, Magpie, Tony Barrand, Dean Stevens, Nancy Tucker, and Pat Humphries.

Quotes:

"Jay's songs are thoughtful, humorous, provocative, and engaging. He reveals a great deal of feeling for serious issues, seasons them with a bit of humor, and weaves his own unique style of guitar playing throughout. Treat your audience to some Jay Mankita!"
- Kate Patton,
Director, Globe Theater

"...he alternates complexity, simplicity, and hilarity, leading us to the most beautifully obvious conclusion; that we're all human, we're all in this together, and it's not so bad after all."
-Margie Rosenkrantz,
Director, The Eighth Step

" ...The blending, in fact, is what makes Mankita such an outstanding performer . . . Even within individual verses of the same song, Mankita will shift his voice from a Brombergian growl to a soft and mellow falsetto; pull his tempo from allegretto to a dramatic legato; from Windham Hillian wallpaper background to a snapping fret-slapping blues style."
- Jeremy Bloom, Schenectady Daily Gazette


"...Jay Mankita is a diamond in the rough"
- The Woodstock Times