George Mel Group

George Mel has worked as a freelance drummer / percussionist in New York City since 2000. Over the past six years, he has performed at various venues including Carnegie Hall, Kavehaz, NYC; Blue Note, NYC;Smalls,NYC; The Bitter End, NYC; The Deer Head Inn, Delaware Water Gap, PA;55Bar,NYC; and many more. While in NYC, George has played with such artists as Duane Eubanks, Bob Rodriguez, Mark Helias, Leni Stern, Valeri Ponomarev,Avishai E.Cohen, Ben Stivers, Jesse Murphy, Raul Midon,Wayne Escoffery, Nilson Matta, David Wilcox,Edzel Gomez ,Lionel Loueke, legendary clarinetist Perry Robinson and tabla grandmaster Badal Roy among countless other world class musicians.George Mel (born George 'Gia' Melikishvili) originally hails from Tbilisi, Georgia where he began many years ago as a self-taught drummer, playing western rock music as an underground hobby. The collapse of the Soviet Union, and the dissolution of strict prohibitions on western culture that the regime enforced, catapulted George and his group, Limousine, to national recognition. Limousine went from performing in the basement of a local university building to playing in concert halls, participating in major rock festivals, and appearing on national TV and radio.After a short period of national fame, civil war erupted in Georgia, pushing George to immigrate to Holland, where he performed for several years with artists like Wendy Sheridan (EMI records) and Walter Trout (John Mayal's Bluesbreakers), among others. He then moved to the United States, where he received his first formal education in music as a Scholarship student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. George is the first Georgian-born musician to graduate with a degree in Jazz Performance in the United States. Following his graduation, George continued working as a freelance musician in NYC and began composing in 2002. For more information ,gig schedule , to purchase CDs and more please visit www.georgemel.comGeorge Mel:“Winding Road”(Ind. Release.© 2004 George Melikishvili/George Mel)George Mel’s debut album”Winding Road” features 6 selected original compositions that are deeply personal and reflect George’s view of music in general as a human expression of beauty through sound(without unnecessary stylistic labeling) and Jazz in particular as improv and interplay within a structure that can and should be harmonically,melodically and rhythmically free from ‘dogmas’ of certain ‘Jazz purists’ of today. In George’s view any true and honest art is a winding road of unknowns that require acceptance and an open mind from both the artist and the listener. Featuring : Lionel Loueke - guitar, Stephan Kammerer - ten. sax, Manu Koch - Fender Rhodes, Kevin Thomas - ac. bass, George Mel - drums,frame drum,voice(track6) & composition.S E L E C T E D R E V I E W S & Q U O T E S :“ I love this record. The music is honest and endearing.” – Mike Zwerin , Music columnist for the “International Herald Tribune”,renowed writer and former Miles Davis “Birth of the Cool” bandmember.“ I liked this Cd a lot. Nice playing.” - Ron Gill,”Jazz Gallery” 89.7 WGBH ,Boston .“ Distinct sound with world music influences. Beautiful job! “ – Perry Robinson, legendary world renowed jazz clarinetist.