Benjy Myaz (f/k/a Benjamin Myers) 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. He went on to study formal music at Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay and after leaving school in 1984, Benjy taught music for two years at the high school level and began further studies with private tutors.

 

His musical career began when he started working in the Jamaica Tourism industry, playing in most of the North Coast hotels for nearly eight years. 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. He has command of at least seven instruments, with his first love being the Bass. This he owes to diligent studies and an innate love for music. Says Benjy, “When you are formally trained, it allows you to appreciate the origin and growth of 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 Jimmy Cliff, Culture, Toots and the Maytals, Shinehead and J.C. Lodge (just to name a few). He also realized his other dreams of singing, writing and arranging.

 

The nineties afforded him the opportunity to produce, write, arrange and collaborate with top Reggae/Pop/Gospel/Folk/Urban recording artists such as Third World, Garnet Silk, Ken Boothe, Joanna Marie, Joan Myers, Pam Hall, Michael St. George, Bankie Banx, Freddie McGregor and producer, Bobby Digital, among others. As a solo act, he performed alongside international artists Jeffrey Osbourne, James Ingram, Gladys Knight, Angie Stone, Kevon Edmonds, and Bankie Banx. He performed at World Food Day (Nov.2000) at James Bond Beach, Ocho Rios, Ja, appearing as a bassist for the chorale, Sounds of Blackness and also Jimmy Cliff. Cliff’s performance was rated the best of the entire showcase. Benjy Myaz has toured North America; performed at several showcases in Japan; he performed at Midem ’97 (France); Reggae Sumfest (Jamaica’s premier music festival), the Jamaica Jazz Festival and Anguilla’s annual Moonsplash, held in Feb. 2005, 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.

 

 

 

So far, Benjy has released two albums, namely “Intimate Relationship” (his debut album), released in the U.S. in 1997 and“Time Together”, released in Jamaica and Japan in 1998 and the U.S. in 2000 (VP Records). Prior to this, his first single, “Love You Higher” (Randy Crawford), was released in 1995. It received massive airplay and has become a classic in the annals of reggae music. In fact, he performed the song at the Prime Minister’s Ball in 2000 alongside Randy Crawford --to her surprise and delight. Prior to completing “Long Story Short”, Benjy produced an instrumental album entitled “You’ve Got Me” -- the first of its kind ever produced in Jamaica - featuring the sound of the Bass as the lead instrument up front. 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 lead instrument and the concept was to create melodies and not make them sound repetitious or monotonous. This instrumental album was strongly inspired by fusion musicians like Herbie Hancock, George Duke and especially bass players Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and  Jaco Pastorius, to name a few; not forgetting the  reggae feel which brings back the album to its “grass roots.”

 

A fine line separates musicians who play music to live and those who live to play music.            Benjy Myaz is no doubt one of the latter, as Benjy emphatically states, “I’m about chasing creativity, not the competition”.