Artist Information Biography BREAKING NEWS: Zili Misik was featured in last Thursday's edition of the Boston Globe (check it in our press section!)! Zili was also in the Boston Phoenix this month! Zili Misik has WON Best World Music, in the Boston Phoenix/WFNX Reader's Poll, 2009!            Zili Misik has been bridging cultures, generations, and continents for nine years. With captivating sounds that evoke the African continent, Zili retraces routes of forced exile and cultural resistance through diasporic rhythm and song.  Powerful Haitian, Brazilian and West African rhythms infuse Zili's original creations and traditional folksongs.  Reconnecting Haitian mizik rasin, Jamaican roots reggae, Afro-Brazilian samba, Afro-Cuban son, and African American spirituals, blues, jazz and neo soul, Zili Misik honors its influences while creating a sound that is uniquely its own.  The women of this group have heritages and roots representing 5 countries and 3 continents.       ALL FEMALE, zili takes its name from Haitian spiritual entity, "Ezili" who is envisaged as mother, lover, and warrior.  Zili's songs are sensual, political, self-reflective, positive, and invoke love.  Zili's lyrics glide seamlessly from English to Kreyol to Portuguese to Spanish, spinning tales and visions of lives lived and yet to be.        Lead singer Rajdulari joined Zili brings a sultry smooth soprano to the Zili sound.  While her voice and vocal range bring to mind jazz greats like Sarah Vaughan, Rajdulari has a unique sound that takes you both to the intimacy of a jazz club and to her roots in the black Baptist Church.  Rajdulari has performed both nationally and internationally, including as a solo artist in Italy. Rajdulari brings incredible harmonies that tell the stories of an African past and an American present.       Founder and multi-instrumentalist Kera M. Washington composes and arranges most of the songs for Zili.  A semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Hand Drumming Competition, and an ethnomusicologist,  Kera incorporates an array of percussion, including Caribbean and West African instruments, flutes and African harps.  Kera also possesses an unusually moving and powerful voice, allowing her to move easily from melodic singing to vocal percussion to chants and spoken word.     "Craigslist" and Berklee College of Music brought  keyboardist Kana Dehara, guitarist Lexi Havlin, saxphonist Joy Roster, trombonist Stephanie Baird, bassist Joanna Maria, and drummer Jobeth Umali, to Zili four years ago.  Graduates of Berklee College of Music, they bring the wealth of their professional and personal experiences, activating Zili's rhythm, horn, and vocal sections.      Zili Misik is the Boston Phoenix and FNX's Boston Best World Music Band 2008 & 2009!! Zili is featured on an episode of PBS' "Design Squad" 2008! Check it out at www.pbskids.org/designsquad. Zili is featured on the BBC's and NPR's Afro Pop Worldwide, April 2008. Zili is featured in the March/April 2008 issue of national Color Lines Magazine -- www.colorlines.com! Zili received nominations for two Boston Music Awards in 2007: Best New Act and Outstanding World Music Act.  Zili is 2007 winner of ROCKRGRL's and Berklee College of Music's BATTLE of the All-FEMALE BANDS; Zili has toured with Queen Omega (T&T), State Radio and Tony Brown (US), performed with Queen Ifrica (Jamaica), opened for Shaggy, Boukman Eksperyans, and Zap Mama (twice!); and performs regularly at colleges, festivals, and performing arts venues throughout the country.  Zili completed 2008 performing at Boston's First Night (2nd year in a row!) and begins 2009 with a tour through NY, PA, OH, and MD.  Zili Misik's first CD release is "New World Soul" (available through www.zilimisik.com); our current CD, "Zee'lee Mee'seek" is now available! Exclusively represented for Colleges\ Universities, Performing Arts Centers, & Arts Presenting Organizations by: Auburn Moon www.auburnmoonagency.com 800.566.6653 MANAGEMENT & Other BOOKING: Kera M. Washington sistahdrum@aol.com Other WEST COAST BOOKINGS: Doug Abrahams Sunrising Artists www.sunrisingartists.com 480/839-5095 Instrumentation Rajdulari, vocals, percussion Kera Washington, vocals, multiple percussion, African harps Lexi Havlin, guitar Kana Dehara, keys Joy Roster, sax, percussion, vocals Stephanie Baird, trombone Joanna Maria, bass guitar Jobeth Umali, drums Peniel Guerrier, choreography, dance (optional) Discography CD, Zee'lee Mee'seek May 2009; CD, New World Soul August 2007; CD "Zili Roots" 2003; featured on Afropop Worldwide (www.afropop.org), "Africa In America 2008,"March-April 2008; Featured in 1hour long show, WMJX-FM 100.5 (www.wmjx.com), January 2009; Airplay on WERS, 88.9FM, WMBR, 88.1FM, and 106FM; internet streaming radioplay on Berklee's BIRN; perform regularly on Boston's BNNTV and Cambridge CCTV. EP "zili misik" April 2006; EP "Zili Misik" March 2008 Links http://www.myspace.com/zilimisik www.zilimisik.com www.myspace.com/zilimisik www.adkfoto.com (Anh Dao Kolbe)