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All travelers through distant lands return with elements of those lands’ richness inside – later integrated into the creation of new richness at home.  As musical and spiritual travelers, Michael and Benjy have taken this journey to create the new land of Celtistan. 

The beautiful musical landscape there reverently merges Michael’s Celtic and jazz sensibilities with Benjy’s love of Indian classical music, giving the ancient traditions of India and Ireland a new melodic voice (with occasional touches of Asia and Bosnia).  Celtistan’s flowing and vibrant language was captured live, to preserve the unique richness, openness and spontaneity that shared moments bring.

Michael and Benjy have shared the depth and beauty of these moments since 1999, when it was clear from their first meeting that their synergy would take them and their audience to new acoustic lands. 

Artist Bio:

BENJY WERTHEIMER

An award-winning musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist (playing tabla, congas, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards), Benjy Wertheimer has toured the US, Canada, Europe, Central America and Japan, and has opened for such artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Winter, and Narada Michael Walden. A founding member of the groundbreaking Ancient Future World Fusion Music Ensemble, he now tours and records regularly with such artists as Krishna Das and Deva Premal. He studied Indian classical music for over 25 years with some of the greatest masters of that tradition (including Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and Z. M. Dagar).

MICHAEL MANDRELL

As Public Radio International's "Echoes" host John Diliberto put it in a recent interview, "Michael Mandrell is the acoustic guitar player infusing his original melodies with Indian scales and a Celtic lilt." Michael honed his open-tuning guitar chops in the early 80's on the Texas folk circuit, performing with and opening for many prominent and upcoming artists such as Nancy Griffith, Lyle Lovett and John Gorka to name just a few. Moving to Taos, NM in 1991, Michael performed with the world fusion group "Taos" co-producing their CD, "The Deepening Edge", released nationally on Blix Street Records. His self produced CD, "The Great Spiral Dance" continues in the world fusion tradition with all original guitar compositions, adding flutes, East Indian percussion, Uillean pipes and other ethnic instruments. Lyrical, haunting, melodic, Michael Mandrell's "The Great Spiral Dance" contains music from the film Stone Reader by Mark Moskowitz (www.stonereader.net). Tracks from this self-produced album weave in and out of Moskowitz's film, helping to create the movie's unique, narrative feel. The film features the tracks "Ancient Art of Soul Travel" and "Ambrosius". More recently Mandrell colaborated with Benjy Wertheimer to produce "Anjali" a mystical yoga/meditation CD. "Anjali" features an improvisational mix of Michael's guitar work with the Benjy's stellar Tabla and Esraj playing. Michael tours regionally and nationally, playing solo as well as with many of the acoustic warrior road tribe, including Jenny Bird (www.jennybird.com), Lynn Wedekind (www.lynnwedekind.com)and Benjy Wertheimer (www.benjymusic.com). As "Echoes" executive producer Kimberly Hass observes, "Michael's hybrid guitar style reveals a guitarist of eclectic sensibilities and delicate technique. His music circles the globe in imagistic compositions."