History

Yosi's biography

Yosi Marshall and his band, Ramajaz, are leading the way in British-Asian fusion music.
This exciting band, launched in 2005, blends modern jazz with classical Indian raga and Flamenco, echoing the work of Nitin Sawhney and Talvin Singh.

Ramajaz sprung to life after Yosi wrote a series of compositions inspired by his travels in India and Brazil. To work on them, he gathered seven of the world's most exciting musicians in their fields: Sirishkumar, on tabla; Igor Outkine on accordion; Sarah Harrison on violin; Mehboob Nadeem on sitar; Rob Lavers on saxophones; Jules Faife on bass; and Jame Trowell on drums and percussion.

The band made its debut appearance at George IV in Chiswick soon after, and went on to create their debut album, Anjuna. This was launched, to critical acclaim, at the Penthouse club in Leicester Square in 2006. A second album, Chennai Flamenco, came a year later, this time featuring the talents of Dimitri Vassilakis, the renowned sax player based in Athens, and Sharat Srivastava, a wizard violinist from Delhi. Swedish jazz vocalist Siri Svegler, came later to garnish the album with her beautiful dulcet tones. The album was launched, again at the Penthouse, to a packed crowd.

For Yosi, Ramajaz draws together the musical styles and influences he has long loved. He was born in India of Iraqi-Jewish parents, where, growing up in Bombay, he heard sitar music for the first time and was intrigued, feeling the same way on hearing and his earliest musical memory is of listening to sitar music in Bombay where he spent his early childhood, and the Hebrew songs he heard in the synagogues. He moved to England as a boy and went on to train in the classical western music tradition at the London College of Music, studying under the mentors Yonty Solomon and Timothy Barratt.

Yosi went on to perform piano concertos by Beethoven, Mozart and Gershwin at leading London venues. He was also developing a deep love of jazz, and he played with virtuoso jazz musicians like Jonathan Gee and Tony Kofi.

Commenting on Ramajaz's album Anjuna, the Sunday Times writer Beverley D'Silva said: "With this debut, Yosi Marshall and his band have taken the spirit of Mozart, Herbie Hancock and Ravi Shankar, put them into a shaker and served up a delightful cocktail of heady jazz and resounding Asian rhythms."

Shows:

The Israel Cultural Centre, Enford St. London WC1 October 2006 and 2007
Chennai Flamenco album launch ; Penthouse Nightclub � Leicester Square, July 2007
Charity Concert for orphans of the Tsunami ;Salvation Hall ,Oxford St, London October 2007
Anjuna album launch; Penthouse Nightclub � Leicester Square, June 2006