Biography
She's been called the "guitar goddess."
"If Jimi Hendrix had a daughter, she'd play like you," said one critic.
Ebony Tay has commented " I am so humbled by statements and I realize the more I learn the more I no nothing .. Hendrix was a genius. People hate Bios..you wanna know more about me, Just click on the video link . "
www.youtube/user/taywoman."
BIO: for the readers!
Top billboard DJ's have described her sultry voice as "the soul machine."
Her performances have been characterized as having the same vibe as Curtis Mayfield, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Prince and Lenny Kravitz.
And, her global fusion of music from different countries and genres has created a new sound of soul that Professors at The Juilliard School have labeled powerful and unique.
A brilliant singer-songwriter, critically acclaimed guitarist, composer, and producer, Ebony Tay is on the path to becoming an undeniably great musician.
Adopted by a hard-working blue-collar family in a small mining town in Ontario, Canada, Tay grew up the daughter of a Scottish-Irish father and Finnish mother who cared for over 44 foster children and 10 of their own. Musical talents were cultivated early on with the entire family often spending their evenings playing guitars and singing to the songs of Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Tina Turner and even The Jefferson's theme song.
Tay's older brothers taught her the guitar and her sisters, who she still calls "the greatest harmonizers ever," inspired her to play. Her early immersion in country, gospel, folk, rock and blue-collar soul music as well as her mom's favorite standards -- from Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein -- gave Tay an early appreciation for the masters of music. It wasn't until she began exploring her own Jamaican and Chinese-Cuban heritage when the old-school sounds of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Otis Redding, Tina Turner and Bob Marley, brought her guitar soul back to her global roots.
The first phase of her career has brought Tay enormous success. She was first recognized by Les Garland, (founder of MTV, VH1, The Box), and then signed by two majors -- Chris Blackwell (U2, Bob Marley, PJ Harvey), and Don Rubin (Tracy Chapman) of Sony/Edel/Red. She released "Stories of the Firehorse," co-produced by Steve Genewick (engineer for Diana Krall, Usher and Ray Charles), and featuring top session musicians, James Gadson (Ray Charles, Beck), plus master members of the funk band LTD.
Tay is the first black female composer to score a feature film. She composed an award-winning original score for the indy film "Hate Crime," while serving as producer for the film. The film's hit tune, "Jesus by 45," rose to the top 20 of the Billboard Music's Hot Dance Play Chart with DJ Mike Cruz's explosive remix. The complete soundtrack created such buzz and accolades, that it continues to burn on iTunes, and the film is now in distribution through Image Entertainment.
Critics have called her the "good karma rebel." This former national track star of Canada, business entrepreneur and now, performer and producer, is a socially-conscious, global musical citizen, who believes in giving back through her musical talents. Profits from her past albums and tours were allocated to national and local charities supporting domestic violence and AIDS.
Tay's charismatic stage presence has ignited a fan base from Alhambra to Zihuatanejo and in major markets across the U.S., U.K., France and Canada. She has opened for such acts as India Arie, Berlin, Mobb Deep, Gypsy Kings, Hall & Oates, Chuck Brown and Dick Dale. Her dynamic showmanship has delivered powerful performances as the headliner for the International Guitar Festival and before crowds of 250,000 at Toronto Pride, on the U.S college circuit, as well as pubs, clubs and festivals throughout the U.K., France and Spain.
Her connection to music has brought her around the globe and back to discovering new dimensions of her artistry. Combining her passion for music with her desire to make the world a better place through song, is what is driving Tay to become a top guitarist, composer and all-around musician.
Currently, she is on hiatus at The Juilliard School in New York City where she is getting classically trained in music composing, jazz guitar, and piano for the first time, thanks to a private scholarship from the PBA and retired police officers of New York City.
Becoming better at her instrument and not just the showmanship of playing is something her father always wanted her to do. Tay's "baptism" in hard-core music theory at Juilliard has ignited a new creative bent for Tay -- a new sound that flirts with old-school soul, STAX Memphis sound, flamenco, traditional jazz and classical music. Think: Beethoven meets Otis Redding meets Miles Davis meets Wes Montgomery meets Paco de Lucia.
In the midst of her intense studies at Juilliard, she is in pre-production of her second album, "Soul Recitals" showcasing a new genre she calls "Soulmenco," a riveting hybrid of modern afrobeat, flamenco and old-school soul sounds which she developed while training in classic flamenco guitar in Granada, Spain,
This Spring, 2009, Tay is preparing for her second film directed by award-winning indy director Tommy Stovall. She will produce and compose an original score for this film, “Sedona,” with classical and global elements, taking us on another soulful journey.
Check out Ebony's YouTube Channel here ...
http://www.youtube.com/user/taywoman
Instrumentation
Ebony Tay - guitars, electric and acoustic, and vocals
Discography
Hate Crime movie soundtrack (image ent 2006)
Jesus by 45 single (Billboard top 20 hit club play)
Stories of the firehorse EP (Silvertruck Music/kufala 2006)
Radio: college and EU stations
Situation & Love this planet - singles
Links
| http://www.ebonytaymusic.com |
| Ebony Tay Channel |
| guitar goddess/curve |
| http://www.myspace.com/ebonytaymusic |
| http://www.hatecrimemovie.com |