Yonatan Bar Rashi (Yoni)

is the eldest son of the late Avraham Bar Rashi (formerly Allan Gittler), a time-bending guitar great who worked with Gil Evans, Elvin Jones and others. Yonatan's father used classical technique on electric guitar and designed the minimalist Gittler Guitar, the only musical instrument in the permanent collection of NY's Museum of Modern Art.

Yonatan was born and raised in NYC and began knocking on things from early youth. His sister got him his first pair of "congas" when he was 10 years old - two pickle barrels from Chinatown with goatskin heads on rims held on by C clamps. His first public playing was at some big parties in the late 60's in NYC and Woodstock, with African groups, including the drummers for Odetta.

if you don't se the video click here to download it

" I was tiny. My mom says I could barely reach their drums. But I was already playing a while and I was the only kid they allowed to sit in."

His first "formal" conga studies were with a Latin group of drummers called "Lexington Avenue", based in a storefront on 117th street and, well, Lexington Avenue.

" They were very kind to me. They did not laugh at my pickle barrel congas."

Yonatan attended NY's High School of Performing Arts and played and sang with several groups, fairly obsessively. He recalls one weird practice routine:

" Sometimes friends and I would stand between subway cars and start singing a tune while the train was still in the station... the train started and we couldn't hear ourselves 'til we got to the next station... that's when we'd find out if our timing and tuning were tight."

In 1976 Yonatan and high school pals Dave Ortiz and David Ramirez were "discovered" while playing in Central Park by members of "The Tokens" who sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". That summer they recorded an album (Skateboardin' USA), appeared on nationwide TV and did a US tour.

" It was well-done bubble gum pop, a big production, but somehow mis-managed and fizzled out - maybe for the best. But it was great experience with super musicians."

Yonatan's percussion playing helped him through college in Florida, and in 1982 he began a 3 year stint in the US Peace Corps.

" I went for selfish reasons only - I knew it was the best available way for me to experience a culture outside the US."

He was assigned to the Eastern Caribbean, which led to long musical associations with Caribbean/jazz saxophonist/composer Luther Francois (albums with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Melba Liston & others), pianist Emerson Nurse, and several others. He played with a wide range of groups in many genres including Caribbean/jazz fusion, Calypso, Cadanse, Zouk, Soca, Reggae and folkloric forms.

" Luther Francois - an incredible person and musician, from an amazing family. He and his family are some of my greatest friends and influences. Luther's music can get to a rare shade of deep blue that I've only heard elsewhere in the music of my dad and a few others."

In '86 Yonatan returned to NY, went to visit family in Israel shortly thereafter, and has lived in Israel most of the years since. He performs in Israel and occasionally abroad with some of Israel's top musicians. Among others, he has performed and/or recorded with:"Baladi", Avishai Cohen, Yair Dallal, Eyal Sela, Shuli Natan, Jonathan Miller, Yehuda Glantz, David Adda, and leads his own percussion group called "Yadayim" (Hands).

Yonatan was hired to play in the Saint Lucia Jazz Festivals of 1992, '93 and '94 with Luther Francois and others.

In 1998 he recorded the CD "Deep Hip", featuring his father on guitar, Yonatan on percussion and other Israeli musicians. This CD is still only available through Yonatan, because his business skills are lousy.

In Israel he has taken up the darbuka and applies the double roll to it - perhaps the first in the Mid East to do so.

" There's nothing like the sounds of congas and bongos. I love the darbuka also now, and finger techniques are a whole new world. The odd way of holding it and the odd-time Mid Eastern rhythms are challenging and fun."

Yonatan on "genius" and the "mystique" of music:

" Genius is nothing but obsession - the more you do it, the better you get - it's that simple. I agree with the Suzuki music school on that score - we ALL are born with pretty much the same equipment and potential, no matter our pre-dispositions. My dad used to say "don't be paralyzed in awe of the greats - we all have the same basic potential."

Yonatan was born August 23, 1958. He has 2 loving daughters ....

His short sound sample is on bongos, recorded with the computer microphone.

click here (.mp3 266k)

updated at july 2006