34 | OCTOBER 1 • 2020
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Arts&Life
by Thelonious Monk, and that
kind of shifted me because I
learned that I can improvise
and express myself. Music can
be this [way] of expressing
myself at a whole other level.”
As Mintus explored jazz, he
also studied classical music and
went to an arts high school in
Israel. After serving as a musi-
cian in the military, he earned
a scholarship to the Manhattan
School of Music. While
enrolled, he entered the New
York performance community
and moved on to tour interna-
tionally, sometimes appearing
with orchestras.
Among the honors he has
received are the Leonard
Bernstein Award presented
by ASCAP (American Society
of Composers, Authors and
Publishers) and the Bernstein
Family Foundation, the Prix du
Public given at the Montreux
Jazz Festival and two of
ASCAP’
s Herb Alpert Young
Jazz Composer Awards.
While performances have
been limited during the pan-
demic, he has interacted with
audiences by taking online
requests and filling some by
raffles.
“I played the requests as an
artistic challenge to personalize
songs from different worlds of
music,” he said. “People who
have experienced loss, sickness
or tough things — or wanted
to wish happy birthday to their
father or something like that
— reached out and asked for
certain songs that are special.
“I made personal dedica-
tions, and the response was
incredible. It was amazing to
see how powerful music can be
and the healing powers it can
have on so many people’
s lives.”
The pianist-composer hopes
his upcoming album, “The
Gershwin Playground,” will
also have those kinds of effects.
“‘
Do You Love Me?’
is my
favorite song from Fiddler,
”
Mintus revealed. “It’
s some-
thing so real and charming.
It gets me, and I’
m looking
forward to sharing lots of spe-
cial music with the people of
Detroit.
“
Although we can’
t meet in
person now, I’
d love to have as
much interaction as possible
through Facebook or my email.
Communication is one of the
most beautiful things. If we
can’
t do it physically, digital
means can be cool, too.
“To share this music is a
blessing, and I’
d love to know
where it took people.”
“‘Do You Love
Me?’ is my
favorite song
from Fiddler.”
— PIANIST GUY MINTUS
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