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Jay Mankita is a songwriter, guitarist, storyteller, essayist, singer, improviser, educator, troublemaker, poet, playwright, and activist for social change.
Over the last 20 years, Jay has presented concerts and workshops in over 1000 schools, libraries, conferences, festivals, clubs, camps, and coffeehouses.
Writing and performing most of his own works, he's recorded two albums, with his work also being performed by many other artists. Pete Seeger calls Jay "one of the half dozen best songwriters today."
Jay's musical styles range from blues, ballads, bluegrass, and bossa nova, through rap, ragtime, swing, and samba, and to old folk standards and quirky originals. He draws from a large repertoire of original and collected material, tailoring each concert according to its audience.
Jay's songs and stories are often issue oriented, but they tend to run deeper than the topical, touching basic themes such as who we are, why we're here, and where we might be headed.
His performances are refreshing, mixing healthy doses of humorous insight with serious treatment of important issues. Audiences participate because Jay's presentations are about creating community, and his concerts and workshops
reflect that commitment.
In years past, Jay has been a semi-professional photographer, captain of his college fencing team, an award-winning environmental fundraiser, actor and musician for two theater companies and has been playing, writing, and performing for over 20 years.
These days, when not presenting workshops and concerts in schools and libraries throughout the region, Jay can be found on the club, coffeehouse, and festival circuit playing for adults. He is also an avid swing and contra dancer, dabbles in contact improvisation and isometric muscle balancing, plays the mandolin, and he is most currently studying the music, language, and culture of Brazil.
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