The ALMIGHTY GOD, Family & Friends...Teachers, Professors & most important were those who helped to shape me spiritually, personally & ♫♫♫♫....of-course, musically.
"Total Love & Deepest Respect" to my Mother & Father- Sis. R Myers & Rev. E Myers, my Sisters & Brothers. The church & school communities i grew up in & around....Herbert Morrison Technical High--Carl Anthony" slouchy" Matthews, Snick Glenn, Professor Judith Grimes, Quincy Jones, Bassist Extraordinaire- Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report, Stanley Clarke, Return To Forever, Sting, Bob Marley & The Wailers Band/Aston Family Man Barrett on Bass & Carlton Barrett on Drums ,Dennis Brown, R.I.P Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler, Musicologist- Dermot Hussey, Black Uhuru, George Benson, Patrice Rushen, Four Play,Earl Klugh, R.I.P-My Teacher/Pianist-Aubrey Adams, Ernie Ranglin-O.D., R.I.P-Wayman Tisdale, Marcus Miller, Pieces Of A Dream, Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock, Nathan East, Anita Baker, Earth-Wind & Fire, Walter Beasley, J.,Spencer, David Sanborn, Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Chicago, Journey, Glen 'Godfather' Brownie, The Jackson 5, Robbie Lyn, Toots & The Maytals, Ken Boothe, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, Phil Collins, Prince,The Police, Ken Boothe, Sly & Robbie, Augustus Pablo, Aswad, Bob James, Jeff Lorber, The Whispers, Johnson Brothers, Grainger Grainger,Oscer Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Seal, R.I.P -Donavan" Timer" Forbes,The Riddim Kings Band & all my previous Bands,Vocalist/Pianist- R.I.P -Tony Dacosta, R.I.P -Winston Wright,...just to name a few...and all those who had believed in me from the very early days..!
♫♫ Genus::Classical, Jazz, Mento, Rocksteady, Roots, Dub, Reggae, Lovers Rock, R&B, Urban, Pop, Rock Folk, Alternative, Funk, Fusion, Latin,World Beat and a few emerging after all those.
“A fine line separates musicians who play music to live and those who live to play music. I live to play music… it is my life”...Benjy Myaz
About Benjy Myaz
View Benjy Myaz's EPK
Benjy Myaz was born in a little town called Haddington, Hanover, on the island of Jamaica.
He and his other seven musical siblings were exposed to music at an early age, playing with the band in their fathers church. Benjy quickly learned the guitar and was always eager to play at devotions in primary school and do rehearsals with the church groups. He went on to study music at Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay. After leaving school in 1984, Benjy taught music for two years at the high school level and began further studies with private tutors earning tertiary accreditation from the London Royal School of Music.
Benjy’s professional musical career began when he started working in Jamaica’s tourist industry, playing in most of the north coast hotels for nearly eight years. During that time, Benjy applied and received a scholarship to Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Faith, in its divinity, wouldn’t have it that way. He, however, went on to develop skills in bass playing, arranging, songwriting and music production and his career as a musician is credited to his vast knowledge about music.
The musician has command of at least seven instruments, with his first love being the Bass. This he owes to diligent studies and an innate love for music. According to Benjy, “When a musician is formally trained, it allows him or her to appreciate the origin and growth of music. It gives you deeper perspective about your craft.”
As a producer, he got his first big break in 1986 when he arranged and produced a remake of Brooke Bentons classic “So Many Ways”, performed by Dennis Malcolm, which went to the number one position in Jamaica, England and New York. With hopes of touring as a bassist, Benjy became a member of the Rhythm Kings Band, touring with several artistes including Jimmy Cliff, Culture, Toots and the Maytals, Shinehead and J.C. Lodge. His other credits include appearing as a bassist for the chorale, Sounds of Blackness and also Jimmy Cliff.
During this period he realized his other dreams, singing, writing and arranging music. The nineties afforded him the opportunity to produce, write, arrange and collaborate with top Reggae/Pop/Gospel/Folk/Urban recording artists such as Third World, Garnet Silk, Ken Boothe, Joan Myers, Pam Hall, Michael St. George, Bankie Banx, Freddie McGregor and Jazz Pianist Onajae Allan Gumbs.
Myaz has co-produced several projects with ace producer, Bobby Digital, including tracks on Sizzla’s album, The Real Thing and Capleton’s Reign of Fire among others. He has also produced several musical projects for Fyah Wyah, Joanna Marie and most recently,
Hal Anthony who has completed and released his 2008 debut album called
" Reggae Man ah Come" produced by Benjy for his own production house and label-
My Werks Music/Productions.
As a solo act, he performed alongside international artists Jeffrey Osbourne, James Ingram, Gladys Knight, Angie Stone, Kevon Edmonds, Bankie Banx and most recently with Peabo Bryson at the Buzz Production’s “To Mom With Love” concert series held in Jamaica. He performed at World Food Day (Nov.2000) at James Bond Beach, Ocho Rios, Reggae Sumfest (Jamaica’s premier music festival) and the Jamaica Jazz Festival.
Benjy says one highlight of his career, was performing his first single, a cover of Love You Higher at the Prime Ministers Ball in 2000, alongside international recording artiste Randy Crawford, who had originally recorded the song, to her surprise and delight. He had released the cover 1995 prior to that memorable performance and it had been receiving massive airplay and has become a classic in the annals of reggae music
On the international scene, Benjy toured Japan following the launch of his album Time Together to promote its release. He also performed at Midem 97 (France); and Anguillas annual Moonsplash, held in March 2007, where he appeared as bassist and musical director for Bankie Banx, and has been since 1997. In 1999 he received a Nomination Medal & Certificate from the Grammy Committee for being a part of Toots and the Maytals Grammy-nominated album.
To date, Benjy has released three albums. His Debut Album Intimate Relationship was released in the U.S. in 1997. Time Together, released in Jamaica and Japan in 1998 and the U.S. in 2000 (VP Records). His own label, My Werks Music, released Long Story Short, the third vocal album, in November 2005. Prior to completing Long Story Short, Benjy produced an instrumental album entitled You’ve Got Me -- the first of its kind ever produced in Jamaica - featuring the sound of the Bass as the lead instrument up front which is being prepared for mastering and packaging.
Music lovers are going to love experiencing this side of Benjy Myaz. In order to accomplish the variations, he utilized his knowledge of other instruments to transform the bassists melodies. He states, “The Bass was always an accompanying rather than a lead instrument and the concept was to create melodies and not make them sound repetitious or monotonous”.
This instrumental album he says “was strongly inspired by fusion musicians like Herbie Hancock, George Duke and in particular, bass players Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Jaco Pastorius. It has international appeal, but does not leave out the ‘Reggae feel’, which, Benjy says “…brings back the album to its grass roots".
Benjy continues to tour and perform in Jamaica and on the international scene, always creating new music and recording new sounds. According to Benjy, “I am about chasing creativity, not the competition".
For Information & Bookings:
Contact:
My'Werks Music/Productions
Vmail:
876 808-7232
Email:
mywerks.music@gmail.com / mywerks@yahoo.com
Official Website:
www.benjymyaz.com
Other Website:
www.myspace.com/mywerks.music
Other Website:
www.linkedin.com/in/benjymyaz
Interests:
GOD ALMIGHTY, Spirituality, Mankind, Music Production & Music Preservation.To be apart of a "Gobal Contributory Factor" which helps to sustain the cohesive existence of mankind on a global level using music as a part of that "Factor".Helping the less fortunate where & when i can impinge on such situations. Music/Film Production & Live Performances. Working with Autistic Children & Conducting Master Classes in Creative Music Education
Honors & Awards:
Top Music Student -Herbert Morrison Tech. High.-1979-1984.
Certificates from the Associated Board of The Royal Schools Of Music, UK 1979-1984. Certificate of Merit for Music/Tuba Solo- Jamaica Cultural Development Commission-1985
Awarded scholarship to Berklee Collage of Music by the
Berklee Professional Music Scholarship Fund ,Boston, USA -1988-89 academic year. JamPro's Trophy for Outstanding Contribution Midem Cannes, France 1997.
Trophy for Participating Judge - AB'S Talent Parade Kgn.- 1998.
Bronz Medal/Certificate from the NARAS for participation & productions in Toots & The Maytals "Ska Father" 41st Grammy Nominated -Best Reggae Album -1998.
Most Consistent Caribbean Artist - Detriot, Michigan USA- 2000..Jamaica Federation Of Music Cornwall County, Most Oustanding Achiever -2000.Certificate of Appreciation-Griot Music event series-"Caribbean Escape"-2001....to name a few...!
My Comment Box
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Congratulations on your new release wishing you blessings and continued success. May your family and you have a Thanksgiving that's filled with God's love and happiness.
What you see, what you think, what you feel, has a reason. What you happen upon, seemingly by blind chance, has a reason. In all that you experience is the voice of your most authentic self, carrying an important, appropriate and timely message. Listen, and seek to lovingly understand what the experience of each moment is saying.
All the wisdom you've collected is speaking to you. All the possibilities that spread out in front of you, are calling to you.
It is not by coincidence that you are where you are. A whole set of thoughts, intentions and experiences brought you here.
All that you have learned and all that you have been through culminate in this place now. It is a rich and entirely meaningful opportunity that greets you and calls you to move forward.
Take the cue, feel the message of this moment, and go with it. In this time and this place, this life is yours with which to do great things.
Many thanks for your kind message and the picture of your --is it the dust jacket of your CD? Looks good whatever it is. I am glad that things seem to be going well for you after such a long frustrating time of "madness". You know that my support is right behind you. I will keep pushing, until you get to the finishing line. Don't worry about that dear. Friends are there for us when the going gets tough. Even though I am not able to be there in person to do my bit, I am there in spirit. So when you sometimes feel a little nudge on your shoulder, or on your bottom, it is me trying to remind you that you are on a journey and you must keep walking until you get to the finishing line. You cannot give up now, and you cannot let even a blind kitten distract you. Just keep focussed. Be brave and brutal, its the only way sometimes, just as long as you are not hurting anyone. What do I mean? If you want something badly enough, you do not let anything or anyone stop you. I am very single minded when I have something to do. It took me three years to start a campaign from scratch, lobby Parliament, write my bill, and persuade the Government of the day to take me seriously, and they did. They debated my Bill, and passed it all in the space of three years. I let no one, and nothing stand in my way. I did not look left or right. I did not play the politics game, and I did not have allegiance to any one. I courted the media and let them work for me, not the other way around. I got my law passed, and I got recognized by the Queen. I have my medal to show for that hard work. Your medal will be your success. So sprint faster than Usain Bolt and get your gold. Just do not be deterred! That is all I ask of you dear BM. Have a wonderful weekend my sweet.
It has been a very hectic two weeks. Alex had the H1N1 virus which I think we picked up either on the plane or on vacation the day before we flew back to Britain. The incubation period would have been spot on. He has been home now for just about 14 days which is the official time that one should be in quarantine from others. He went through the entire cycle of events and he is fighting fit now. He could have easily developed pneumonia in which case he would have been one its statistics now--and I would be in mourning. Thank Goodness he has me for a Mom. It has been very hectic for me. But I am Ok, and it has almost passed now. It really is a very rotten virus. I hope that all is going well for you, and with you. I heard your song--Eternal Love--with Alicia played on an Internet radio a few nights ago. How wonderful! I was quite excited about it.
You are an excellent musician, and a superb singer. The combination is dynamic. I just wish you greater success, and hope that you will make it very big before long. Then I will get my chance to sit in the front row of your concert with my dried up flowers, and my knitting, with my old woollie hat on my head and my glasses perched on my nose, knitting away and rocking as you play and sing. When I get excited, I will throw a flower on stage at you! Hmmm! I can see it--can't you? Silly old woman thinking she is 35 when she really is 95 bopping away in dreamland. I would hope that you would dedicate a track to me.
Dear, you have a wonderful evening and weekend. I told you that I am crazy, as well as troublesome. But I am lovable, and that is what matters most! You please be good to yourself. God Bless You, and I hope that he is opening doors for you.
Great seeing you on Sunday at the Sonny Bradshaw Tribute.
Here's hoping for a very successful album launch tonight. You've been one of my favourite artiste for a very long time and I'm sure this new project will open new doors and win the hearts of new fans while retaining and gaining much more respect and praise from your old ones.
