A self-taught master of improvisation, Jamie Janover has developed a unique style. He is recognized as a true innovator on the hammered dulcimer and is an experienced drummer and percussionist as well. He has done extensive explorations into the realm of improvisation, mixing genres and instruments. He began playing music on the drums at age fourteen and has gone on to become a diverse instrumentalist, familiar and comfortable with many different styles of music. His greatest strength, perhaps, is his ability to listen and instantly respond to the musicians he performs. He brings new direction to the ancient string instrument called the hammered dulcimer by applying his diverse percussive techniques drawn from the other instruments he plays : drumkit, mini-kit (which Jamie invented), multi-percussion, tabla, congas, bongos, timbales, udu, didjeridoo and didjeribone. Since moving to Boulder, Colorado in 1995, Jamie has played with a diverse group of bands and solo artists including The String Cheese Incident, The Motet, ZILLA, Zuvuya, The Theory Of Everything, The Zambiland Orchestra, The Dude of Life, Nederland Acid Jazz, Chupacabra, and his own band, Jamie Janover and the Realms Ensemble among many others. Jamie is also a veteran of hundreds of live guest appearances. Just a few of the artists he has performed on stage with are: Phish, Stanley Jordan, Bela Fleck, Leftover Salmon, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Sector 9, Dr. Didg., Living Daylights, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Deep Bannana Blackout, The Slip, Govt' Mule, Tony Furtado, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Paul McCandless, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Derrek Trucks, Pete Wernick, Peter Rowan, Future Man, Michael Ray, Joules Graves, Jeff Coffin, The Zen Tricksters, Living Daylights, Hanuman, Fat Mama, Joe Russo, Stanton Moore, Sally Van Meter, Ross Martin, and members of the Rebirth Brass Band, The Dead, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Blueground Undergrass and The Yonder Mountain String Band. He has appeared on over 20 official commercial recording releases including CDs by The String Cheese Incident, G. Love and Special Sauce, Keller Williams, Garaj Mahal, Chupacabra and Stephen Halpern. Janover has also performed at several prestigious venues and festivals across the country including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, N.W. Festival of Jazz and Wine, Red Rocks and The Great American Music Hall. Jamie is reinventing the hammered dulcimer. Because he has played the drums since such a young age, he recognized the incredible potential of the instrument early on and has focused on the percussive techniques of playing the strings. Over time, he has developed his own approach to the instrument and a unique style characterized by the intricate interplay between rhythm and melody, the use of odd time signatures, metric modulation and dynamic changes of volume and tempo, often creating extended spontaneous compositions. A world traveler, Jamie has played not just in the U.S. and Canada, but also in Africa (for the Masai of Kenya) India and Australia. His live performances have included everything from solo hammered dulcimer concerts, to playing in bands on drum kit, percussion, hammered dulcimer or didjeridoo. Jamie also does hammered dulcimer workshops, school assemblies, weddings and accompanies dance and theater performances. In 1998 Janover launched Realm Music, an independent record label that carries his music and CDs of artists with whom he has worked. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Realm Music's mission is to spread the musical visions of independent artists - music that is unique and moves the mind and the body. The label has a web site where one can listen to and order CDs at www.realmmusic.com. Jamie is also a professional photographer. You can see examples of his work at photorealms.com. Jamie Janover's music is diverse in scope and so have been the ways in which it has been used. Janover's music has been featured on the NPR radio program "All Things Considered" and "New Sounds", has been used for television and video soundtracks, theater and dance performances, and meditation and massage. The following are some of the national publications in which his work has been treated: Dirty Linen, Relix, Dulcimer Player News, and Mountain Freak. An incredible new step in Jamie's creative output was his invention of the "Realms Mobile", which is a musical vehicle! The "Realms Mobile" is a recumbent tricycle, attached to which is a mini-simulated drumkit. This enables Jamie to play drums with both hands and pedal around at the same time! He brings it out at large festivals including Burning Man. Currently, Jamie is performing with the aid of a loop sampler, which enables him to repeat musical phrases and add many other layers, composing rich musical tapestries of sound. His current show includes Jamie on hammered dulcimer, mini-kit, percussion, tanpura, didjeridoo and ambient sound effects, all woven into intricate rhythmic tapestries of sound. More about the "Realms Mobile", Jamie's music, photography, schedule, links, hammered dulcimer information, complete discography and an on-line version of this press-kit are on his web site at: www.jamiejanover.com. With each new project, new album, new band, new instrument comes another step in the continued evolution of Jamie's creative process. He continues to cross-pollinate both genres and mediums in his continual exploration into the infinite realms of the creative process. Perhaps best known for his musical abilities, Janover is a truly multi-talented and totally unique artist in the broadest sense of the term.