Tony Khalife Composer Born in Beirut, April 1, 1964, Tony Khalife attended the National Conservatory of Music and participated in the Berklee College of Music correspondence studies. In 1981 he joined The Marvels, an original rock group that became one of the pioneers of western music in Lebanon. In 1982, The National Conservatory named him Best Lebanese Guitarist. Tony spent his boyhood surviving the civil war, literally forging his unique sound during the lulls between Beirut street battles. He moved to California at the age of nineteen and finished his formal guitar education in 1986, graduating with honors from the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood. He also studied yoga, mythology, and traditional Indian singing under the tutelage of Satguru Sant Keshavadas, and Tabla (Indian drumming) under Ustad Zakir Hussain. Tony taught at the Showcase Music Institute in San Jose and the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. He now teaches privately at his home studio in Palo Alto. He has been featured in Guitar Player Magazine's Spotlight, BAM magazine, Palo Alto Weekly, The Bay Guardian, Metro and numerous other local publications. Accompanying Tony in his group are Brazilian drummer Celso Alberti, bassist John Lester, guitarist Chris Rossbach, percussionist Paulo Baldi, violinist Jim Hurley, and Iranian saxophonist Hafez Moudir Zadeh. They have performed all over the Bay Area in concert venues, clubs, colleges, coffeehouses, corporate settings, weddings, and summer festivals. In January 1999 he toured Egypt under the USIS cultural exchange program with Country of Origin. Recordings and Releases For the past fourteen years, Tony has worked primarily on integrating his Lebanese-Andalusian heritage and love of Indian music in a western context. His latest independent release, Fish Out Of Sea, marks a timeless dance of cultures. He recorded Pandhari, The City of Bliss in 1990, an instrumental jazz recording. Vitthala in 1992, an instrumental rock fusion. Solo Me in 1993, an Andalusian-flamenco project. This I Have Seen in 1994, melodic Eastern-Rock. Tony has composed original music for two movie soundtracks for New Name Performance, an independent production company, in San Francisco: Hospital of the Mind in 1997 and God Wears My Underwear in 1998 (CD released in 2000). In 1999, he composed original music for the short stories series/theater play of writer Elmaz Abi Nader entitled Country of Origin. His guitar playing has also appeared on many international and local artists' recordings. The Tony Khalife Group (the musicians who worked on this album) Tony Khalife: Guitars, Tabla & Keyboards Paulo Baldi: Dumbek, Riqq and Percussion Fx John Villa: Didgeridoos, Conches and Percussion Fx John Lester: Bass Chris Yanni: Cello Allette Brooks: Vocals Jim Hurley: Violin Celso Alberti: Drums Robin Silver: Flute Recorded and mixed by Celso Alberti at Moon Dog Studio, Alameda, CA. Sie sang mir was recorded and mixed by Tony Khalife and Robin McCain in Lucy Hudson's studio, San Francisco, CA. Mastered by Jason Andrews at Little Big Band Productions, Occidental, CA.