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Ashkenaz is Temporarily Closed
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Shimshai & Eliyahu Sills
with Marlon Aldana on drums & vocals
Shimshai is an international performing artist drawing inspiration from many different genres including reggae, folk, and sacred traditional music to create a style that is uniquely his own and has influenced many other artists. He has collaborated with musicians such as Jai Uttal, Wah & Snatam Kaur, and opened for legends such as Joan Baez, to name a few. Shimshai is a festival favorite often performing for thousands of people. His fans span the globe and this has brought him to perform throughout the Americas, Europe & Australia. Whether performing solo or with a full band his performance and stage presence has a mesmerizing quality that must be experienced to be understood.
"Shimshai's music emanates a divine presence and a quality of peace, a truly 'natural mystic' energy that flows into the hearts of his listeners. His musicality is superb, as is that of his bandmates, and his singing is sublime and transcendent.” ~Jai Uttal
"Shimshai is a heart-centered musical prodigy and one of the most gifted performers I've ever experienced.” ~Bruce Pavitt (Founder of Seattl e based Sub-Pop Records, Nirvana¹s first record label)
Eliyahu Sills is a highly acclaimed musician of many instruments and deep knowledge of multiple musical traditions, from spiritual music of the Middle East and India to American musics of Soul and Jazz and their African roots.
He is a leader and collaborator of many projects, most notably, The Qadim Ensemble, which brings together diverse cultures of the Middle East, whose CD reached #7 on Billboard’s World Music charts; Eliyahu also performs as a solo artist and with his duo, playing Hindustani Ragas, Middle Eastern Sufi music, and Jewish songs on the oud, ney, and bansuri.
Known for his authenticity and soulful musicianship, Eliyahu Sills has been performing music for over 20 years on multiple instruments, including bansuri (the bamboo flute of India), and Turkish and Arabic ney (the reed flute of the middle east), the upright bass, and electric bass. He performs throughout the country with his critically acclaimed bands The Qadim Ensemble, and as a solo artist as well as collaborating with many highly acclaimed musicians.
Eliyahu’s ney flute . . . creating a sense of human communication with the divine.”
— All Things Considered, NPR
