Benjy Myaz

Benjy Myaz was born in a little town called Haddington, Hanover, on the island of Jamaica. He and his other seven musical siblings were exposed to music at an early age, playing with the band in their father's church. Benjy quickly learned the guitar and was always eager to play at devotions in primary school and do rehearsals with the church groups.
Benjy's professional musical career began when he started working in Jamaica's tourist industry, playing in most of the north coast hotels for nearly eight years.
He studied music at Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay. After leaving school in 1984, Benjy taught music for two years at the high school level and began further studies with private tutors earning tertiary accreditation from the London Royal School of Music.
During that time, Benjy applied and received a scholarship to Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Faith, in its divinity, wouldn't have it that way. He, however, went on to develop skills in bass playing, arranging, songwriting and music production and his career as a musician is credited to his vast knowledge about music.
As a producer, he got his first big break in 1986 when he arranged and produced a remake of Brooke Benton's classic "So Many Ways", performed by Dennis Malcolm, which went to the number one position in Jamaica, England and New York. With hopes of touring as a bassist, Benjy became a member of the Rhythm Kings Band, touring with several artistes including Jimmy Cliff, Culture, Toots and the Maytals, Shinehead and J.C. Lodge. His other credits include appearing as a bassist for the chorale, Sounds of Blackness and also Jimmy Cliff.
The nineties afforded him the opportunity to produce, write, arrange and collaborate with top Reggae/Pop/Gospel/Folk/Urban recording artists.. Myaz has co-produced several projects with ace producer, Bobby Digital, including tracks on Sizzla's album, The Real Thing and Capleton's Reign of Fire among others. He has also produced several musical projects for Fyah Wyah and Joanna Marie.
As a solo act, he performed alongside international artists Jeffrey Osbourne, James Ingram, Gladys Knight, Angie Stone, Kevon Edmonds, Bankie Banx and most recently with Peabo Bryson at the Buzz Production's "To Mom With Love" concert series held in Jamaica. He performed at World Food Day (Nov.2000) at James Bond Beach, Ocho Rios, Reggae Sumfest (Jamaica's premier music festival) and the Jamaica Jazz Festival.
On the international scene, Benjy toured Japan following the launch of his album Time Together to promote its release. He also performed at Midem 97 (France); and Anguilla's annual Moonsplash, held in March 2007, where he appeared as bassist and musical director for Bankie Banx, and has been since 1997. In 1999 he received a Nomination Medal & Certificate from the Grammy Committee for being a part of Toots and the Maytals Grammy-nominated album.
To date, Benjy has released three albums. His Debut Album Intimate Relationship was released in the U.S. in 1997. Time Together, released in Jamaica and Japan in 1998 and the U.S. in 2000 (VP Records). His own label, My' Werks Music, released Long Story Short, the third vocal album, in November 2005.
Prior to completing Long Story Short, Benjy produced an instrumental album entitled You've Got Me. Music lovers are going to love experiencing this side of Benjy Myaz. In order to accomplish the variations, he utilized his knowledge of other instruments to transform the bassist's melodies. He states, "The Bass was always an accompanying rather than a lead instrument and the concept was to create melodies and not make them sound repetitious or monotonous".
It has international appeal, but does not leave out the 'Reggae feel', which, Benjy says "...brings back the album to its grass roots"