Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz

(oud, bass)

shanirb@hotmail.com

Shanir studied at the Manhattan School of Music and holds a B.A. in Performance from Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA. He also attended Rimon School of Music in Israel where he founded the Lemon Juice Quartet in 1993, an avant-garde jazz quartet that performs regularly around the NYC area and has extensively toured the U.S. LJQ has also taken part in the Knitting Factory's "Jewsapalooza Festival" as well as the Red Sea International Jazz Festival in Israel three times. LJQ's most recent album "Peasant Songs" on Piadrum Records has commanded rave reviews.

Shanir is also a founding member of SATLAH, a Jewish inspired trio mixing rhythms from the Middle East with avant-garde sensibilities. Satlah's 1999 self- titled debut for Tzadik Records features John Zorn as a special guest, and their second CD, Exodus, was recorded live at Tonic in New York City.

Satlah has performed in many clubs and festivals across the U.S. and around the world, including a concert for BBC Radio in London, jazz festivals in Israel, Poland, Italy and France. In addition to his two founding projects, Shanir has performed and/or recorded with the Jazz Mandolin Project, Marty Ehrlich, Sonny Simmons, Pharaoh's Daughter, George Garzone, Satoshi Takeshi, Hank Roberts, Jamie Saft, Daniel Carter, Sabir Mateen, Will Connell, Brandon Ross, Jim Puglesie, Jamie Saft, Mark Dresser, Anthony Coleman, Trevor Dunn, Frank Lacy, Susie Ibarra, Ravish Momin, Ikue Mori, and John Zorn.

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz was born in 1975 in Brooklyn, NY. He started playing music at a very early age and formally began studying the bass at age 10. In middle school, Shanir held first-chair position in the all-county orchestra and began to study jazz. In high school, he was awarded the Louis Armstrong jazz award.

Shanir has studied at the Manhattan School of Music and holds a B.A. in Performance from Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass., were he graduated Summa Cum Laude. He also attended Rimon School of Music in Israel where he founded the "Lemon Juice Quartet" in 1993.

The "Lemon Juice Quartet" is an avant-garde jazz quartet that performs regularly around the NYC area
and tours extensively throughout the world. LJQ has taken part in the Knitting Factory's "Jewsapalooza Festival" as well as the Red Sea International Jazz Festival in Israel three times. LJQ's most recent album "Peasant Songs" on Piadrum Records features Shanir on acoustic bass and has commanded rave reviews.

Shanir is also a founding member of "Satlah". Satlah is a Jewish inspired trio mixing rhythms from the middle-east with avant-garde sensibilities. Satlah's 1999 self titled debut for Tzadik Records features John Zorn as a special guest. "Exodus", their second CD, was recorded live at Tonic in New York City. Satlah's third album for Tzadik Records, "Children of Israel", features John Zorn and was produced by Bill Laswell. Satlah has performed in many clubs and festivals around the world, including concerts for BBC Radio in London, jazz festivals in Israel, Poland, Italy and France, as well as across the USA.

Most recently, Shanir has recorded three more albums for Tzadik Records. The first is called "Rashanim",
and electric guitar trio playing a fusion of jewish rock and chamber music featuring Shanir on electric bass.
The second is a compilation of music by Israeli composer "Shasha Argov". The third is a compilation of music composed by John Zorn for the ten-year anniversary of his band, "Masada". All three albums are due for release in late March.

Shanir is a featured performer in the May 2000 issue of Bass Player Magazine. Besides his main projects, Shanir has performed and/or recorded on acoustic bass, electric bass, and oud with the Jazz Mandolin Project, Pharaoh's Daughter, George Garzone, Satoshi Takeshi, Hank Roberts, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell, Sabir Mateen, Charles Burnham, Brandon Ross, Will Connell, Ravish Momin, Jim Puglesie, Jamie Saft, Mark Dresser, Frank Lacy Anthony Coleman, Ned Rothenburg, Marty Erlich, Trevor Dunn,
Susie Ibarra, Roberto Rodriguez, Ikue Mori, and John Zorn.