Album Notes

"Tami Machnai is a performer of extraordinary creativity, vocal talent and passion, a consummate artist of great emotional depth. Her work has a special spark that always moves her audience in ways they don't expect."
--Hankus Netsky Founder and Director, Klezmer Conservatory Band.

"I admire her depth and magnetism and the rich mix of her Western and Middle Eastern repertoire"
--Osvaldo Golijov, Composer


Singer/composer Tami Machnai's performances invoke a powerful fusion between Western and Middle-Eastern music. She specializes in contemporary interpretations and traditional performances of Middle Eastern, Israeli and Jewish folk music. She sings in Hebrew, Ladino (the Jewish dialect of Spanish) and English. In her flexible ensemble which she leads and directs you will find classical guitar, clarinet, violin, cello, bouzouki, piano, accordion, upright acoustic bass and hand percussion.

Recent credits include performing at Lincoln Center, NY in Peter Sellars' production of the opera 'Ainadamar' by Osvaldo Golijov, performing at The Fleet Center, Boston, at the opening ceremony of the International JCC Maccabi Games, for an audience of fifteen thousand; performing with the L.A. Philharmonic at the new Disney Hall in a production of Osvaldo Golijov 's opera Ainadamar; two performances in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand; a Performance at the Argentinean Jewish Relief Campaign of Greater Boston concert (AJRC) for an audience of nine hundred; and performing at the Boston ‘First Night’ celebrations on New Years eve 2004. In 2004, Ms. Machnai took first prize in the Billboard Song Competition, World Music category

Ms. Machnai recently celebrated the release of her CD ‘Levante’ in Boston and New York. The shows received superb responses from the audience, as well as from representatives of the music industry and media. In the Boston area Tami has performed at a wide range of venues including Ryles Jazz Club, Karoun Restaurant, where she also leads and produces a popular monthly Israeli music evening, the Boston Public Library, the Berklee Performance Center, Longi School of Music and the French Library, as well as numerous Jewish temples. She was also featured on the Boston NBC affiliate, WHDH Channel Seven News in a broadcast of the 2004 First Night celebration.

Outside the U.S., Ms. Machnai has performed in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand, in Temple Sinay and Liston Park Festival; in Tokyo, Japan, at Club Kokatoo; in Caracas, Venezuela, at the Yohan Sebastian Bar and La Casa De Cultura; and in World Music Performance workshops at colleges and community music schools in Zurich, Switzerland, and in Marakai, Venezuela.

In her native Israel, Ms. Machnai has performed several times on Israeli national television and has performed in Tel Aviv at the Jazz O'mania Music Festival and the Suzanne Dalal Dance Festival. She has recorded a SONY Television commercial as soloist of the Arnon Palti Jazz Quartet, worked in collaboration with the Nimrod Frid Dance Ensemble, and has recorded with Boston Reggae singer/songwriter Casper John on four of his albums.

Ms. Machnai's music draws on her rich cultural and educational background. She began her studies as a classical pianist at the Dunia Weitzman Conservatory in Haifa, Israel, and continued at the Rimon School of Music in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Tami Machnai holds a Master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory
(with academic honors), a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music (Summa Cum Laude), and a Graduation Certificate from the Rimon School Of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel.