Eli Yamin’s Bio

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Pianist, composer and producer Eli Yamin has dedicated his life to performing, teaching and building community through jazz. He has performed and toured as a jazz ambassador for the United States in over 25 countries, and at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. His recordings include You Can’t Buy Swing with his jazz quartet; I Feel So Glad, with his blues band; Louie’s Dream, dedicated to “our jazz heroes,” with New Orleans-based clarinetist Evan Christopher, and Live In Burghausen with jazz icon, Illinois Jacquet. He co-founded and now directs Jazz Power Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming lives through jazz arts education and performance. His three youth-centered musicals have been performed internationally and across the U.S. including Message From Saturnabout the healing power of the blues, to be presented with Jazzmobile this summer in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. Since 2017, Eli has been the producer, host and pianist for the ongoing series: Intergenerational Jazz Power Jam, produced monthly in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem with support from New York State Council on the Arts and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and featuring a wide range of jazz musicians and dancers. His book, So You Want to Sing the Blues: A Guide For Performers was published by Rowman and Littlefield in collaboration with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Eli holds a Masters in Music Education from Lehman College, City University of New York and is working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook, State University of New York.