Artist description Good evening Mr. Phelps, The man you are looking at - Shmuel Meir, aka Johnny Mayer - is a fugitive from a US jazz band that escaped the country at age 17 and is believed to be hiding in Israel and leading the Shmuel Meir Band. Considered an armed and dangerous guitar player, Meir created Blues for Peace as a cover for promoting an Arab Jewish blues band. When the plan failed, he escaped and was last seen carrying a black stratocaster and headed for a gig in Jerusalem. Shmuel Meir's known associates include Israeli jazz musicians that have performed in New York, Europe and the Red Sea Jazz Festival. And his band, the Shmuel Meir Band, plays funky jazz, blues and original music and appears at events in Jerusalem. Your mission, should you decide to accept, is to find out where the Shmuel Meir Band and sign them to a record deal. As always, should you or any member of your team be captured, the Secretary will deny any knowledge of your activities. Good luck Jim...

Musical Influences B.B. King, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis, Albert Collins, SRV

Artist History Born in the USA, Johnny Mayer, aka Shmuel Meir, came to Israel when he was seventeen and has played, taught and promoted Israeli blues and jazz for over thirty years. Concert Reviews & Quotes "Johnny Mayer is a blues musician in his soul." Hadara Levin Ardi, Itone Jerusalem. "The band had the feel for the music and the crowd enjoyed themselves. Yuval Fiorko, Kol Ha-ir "Writes simple American songs that nobody in Israel can write." Shlomo Artzi, leading Israeli singer. "A fine person and a great musical potential." Jimmy Cheatham (trombonist for Duke Ellington) "Mayer is pulling out all the stops to get his message out there." Barry Davis, Jerusalem Post. Performances & Jam Sessions In Israel, Johnny Mayer has performed with Shlomo Artzi, David Broza, Ofra Haza, Ronnie Peterson, Yitzhak Klepter, Eldad Shrim, Yitzhak Yedid, Dan Gottfried, Eli Magen, Dudu Topaz, Yoram Gaon, Giora Fedman, Aron Kaminsky, Yaron Yacobovitz and Shlomo Mizrahi. In the United States with Charles Mingus, Don Pullen, George Adams, Danny Richmond, Paul Jeffries, Jimmy and Jeannie Cheatham, James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Jon Paris, Bryan Lee and Chuck Solberg. Author of Blues Guitar Books Blues Rock Guitar, Mifalae Tarbut, 1995 Beginner book - 24 pages + cassette, Hebrew Blues Guitar Band, Modan Publishing, 2000 Advanced book 48 pages + CD, English Promoter of Israeli Blues & Jazz Blues for Peace Recognized by UNESCO, Downbeat, USA Today, etc. Israel Jazz Showcase Promotes Israel jazz to international festivals. Education & Affiliations Degree in Music Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison Member ACUM, Israel Society of Composers & Playwrights

Instruments Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals

Location Jerusalem, IS - Israel

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