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(Bouzouki,
Guitar, Vocals)
Born in Greece, Pengas' extraordinary talent and
quicksilver fingers led him from playing lead guitar in the Israeli Air
Force Band to performing at New York's celebrated venues, such as Avery
Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and
Town Hall. A skilled musical arranger, lead guitarist and self-taught
virtuoso on the bouzouki, a stringed Greek instrument, Pengas creates
music that is rooted in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and draws
upon Eastern and Western musical elements. In the early 70s, Pengas
appeared at El Avram and the Cafe Feenjon nightspots in New York
City. In 1979, he opened his own nightclub, "Noga" in the heart of New
York's Greenwich Village. It was there that be and a Close circle of
versatile, like-minded performers showcased their wide-ranging tastes and
talents as a part of the Noga Group. Pengas' first album, "NOGA,"
captured the group's, and the club's, spirit and sound. Since then, he
has appeared in concerts and music festivals throughout the United
States, including the Bethlehem Musikfest, Yidstock, and the Jewish
Arts Festival of Commack as well as Israel's annual Klezmorim Festival
in Zefat. Avram has also lent his talents to the Off-Broadway
production of Hot Klezmer, Pengas can still be heard most often in the
clubs of downtown Manhattan. |