Yosi Piamenta ( he, יוסי פיאמנטה; 29 November 1951 – 23 August 2015) was an Orthodox Jewish singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for introducing the electric guitar to

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originat ...

. Piamenta played

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

tunes, often infused with heavy rock licks and extended

guitar solos A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular mus ...

– all while dressed in Orthodox Jewish

religious clothing Religious clothing is clothing which is worn in accordance with religion, religious practice, tradition or significance to a faith group. It includes clerical clothing such as cassocks, and religious habit, robes, and other vestments. Accessories ...

and singing

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...

lyrics. Piamenta was widely acknowledged by rock critics as a guitar virtuoso. In addition to being an original songwriter, Piamenta covered others' music in the

religious Jewish music This article describes the principal types of religious Jewish music from the days of the Temple to modern times. History of religious Jewish music The history of religious Jewish music is about the cantorial, synagogal, and the Temple music f ...

category – his album ''Songs of the Rebbes'' includes various

Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

Belz Belz ( uk, Белз; pl, Bełz; yi, בעלז ') is a small city in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, located between the Solokiya river (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administ ...

, and

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

nigun A nigun ( he, ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", plural nigunim) or niggun (plural niggunim) is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", " ...

im and

zemirot Zemirot or Z'miros ( he, זמירות ''zǝmîrôt'', singular: zimrah but often called by the masculine zemer) are Jewish hymns, usually sung in the Hebrew language, Hebrew or Aramaic languages, but sometimes also in Yiddish or Judeo-Spanish, L ...

– as well as secular American music, such as

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

, and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. Piamenta described his music style saying, "I do

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

with electric guitar".

Personal life

Piamenta was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1951 to Yehuda and Genia Piamenta. In 1962, when he was 12 years old, Piamenta moved with his family to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. There, he received his first guitar from his uncle, Albert Piamenta, an Israeli saxophonist. Growing up, he practiced traditional Judaism. In his 20s, Piamenta moved to New York together with his brother, Avi Piamenta, with the intention of working on a joint album with American saxophone player

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

. The album was a success, but Piamenta disapproved of the entertainment industry lifestyle and turned to religion, joining the Orthodox Jewish community. He married his 16-year-old cousin, Vivian, and they raised six children together; the couple separated in 2005. Piamenta lived in

Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...

, for over 20 years before moving back to Israel to reside near his father. Piamenta said that he moved back to Israel permanently. He said, "My father, who is 80, called me in New York and said, 'Come back to Israel, be with me a little'. He never talked in that tone before, and I decided to come back. All my life I have played and made music and I won't stop. Now I will play in Israel and form a band and go abroad for gigs wherever I am invited. My base from today on is Tel Aviv". His father, Yehuda, has since died. In August 2014, Piamenta, together with Avi Piamenta and Naftali Kalfa, released a single, "''Yaancha''," calling it a "prayer for Piamenta's recovery". On 14 April 2015, Piamenta's Facebook page disclosed that "Yosi is not doing well" and asked fans to "Please pray your hearts out". On 17 April 2015 Piamenta fell into a coma; he woke up from the coma two days later. Piamenta underwent surgery for cancer at the

Sheba Medical Center Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer ( he, המרכז הרפואי ע"ש חיים שיבא – תל השומר), also Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan at Tel HaShome ...

. He died in New York on 23 August 2015.

Musical career

In 1974, Piamenta formed a band with his brother Avi, a flutist. By 1976, the brothers had been discovered by Getz, who invited them to record with him in New York. Piamenta was 26 years old when he arrived in New York and embarked on a

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

with Getz throughout the United States. After the tour, the Piamentas joined Getz on tour in Israel. After recording an album with Getz, Piamenta became a

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

(observant Orthodox Jew). Piamenta's fan base was bifurcated. A majority appreciated him as an iconic Jewish musician and attended his live performances at religious events and Jewish concerts and weddings. Piamenta also attracted a fan base that particularly enjoyed his interpretations of rock and blues, and his lengthy guitar solos that he usually played only at smaller concerts held in bars and clubs. In addition to his live performances, Piamenta released a series of studio albums that can be found in Jewish homes in the US and Israel. The Piamenta Band was one of the most-requested groups of musicians for Jewish weddings for many years. Most of Piamenta's concerts and albums were performed or recorded in conjunction with his brother, Avi.

Discography

Albums

* ''Let's Dance with the Piamentas'' (1981) * ''Ezreinei K-l Chai: A Medley of Chassidic Hits'' (1982) * ''Mitzvah'' (1984) * ''Tismach'' (1988) * ''Piamenta 1990'' (1989) * ''Songs of the Rebbes'' (1991) * ''The Way You Like It!'' (1995) * ''Strings of My Heart'' (1997) * ''Big Time'' (with Avi Piamenta) (2000) * ''Piamenta Live NYC Performance'' * ''Sason V'simcha: A Piamenta Wedding'' (with Avi Piamenta) (2003) * ''Live at Crash Mansion'' (with the Heavenly Jams Band) (2004) * ''Sameach - Sephardic Dance Mix'' (with Avi Piamenta and Shlomo Haviv) (2004) * ''Yihiyu Leratzon'' (with Naftali Kalfa) (2007)

References

External links

Yossi Piamenta
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Piamenta Band
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piamenta, Yosi 1951 births 2015 deaths Hebrew-language singers Israeli male singer-songwriters Israeli singer-songwriters Israeli Hasidim 20th-century Israeli male singers 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli guitarists Musicians from Jerusalem Musicians from Tel Aviv Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Jewish rock 20th-century guitarists 21st-century guitarists