Embe Esti

We regret to announce that due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to cancel this performance.  We hope to present Embe Esti in the future.

Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents the intercontinental fusion band Embe Esti. This group is known as a dance band, we will have room for dancing as well as for toe tapping listening!

“We are thrilled to host this group of extraordinarily talented musicians to the Academy,” said Wayne Greene, who co-chairs the Academy Music Committee with Michele Quigley. “Their repertoire of funky, groove-oriented world music is sure to please.”

Based in the Capital Region of New York, Embe Esti incorporates grooves and sounds inspired by the African Diaspora and other global traditions. Band members include Lady T (vocals and percussion), Scott Collins (guitar), Mike Dimin (bass), and Aaron Shields (drums). They won the 2024 ListenUp “Favorite Reggae/World Music” award and have performed at The Linda, The Star Theater at Cherry Valley Artworks, HVCC, The Jive Hive, Amsterdam Riverwalk, and in benefit concerts for Habitat for Humanity and Food Not Bombs.

Taunya Hannibal-Williams (aka Lady T) hails from Buffalo, NY. She is a classically trained flautist and has been a vocalist and songwriter in several bands, including IMI (reggae) and IndustryUs (industrial). She has also worked with the Marvin Starr Project (R&B) and Filth (neo-punk). Her voice was deemed “ethereal” by Metroland magazine and she enjoys the challenge of singing in different musical genres.

Scott Collins earned a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Composition from Berklee College of Music and an M.F.A. in Multi-Focus Guitar Performance from California Institute of the Arts. His pyrotechnic playing on fretted and fretless instruments draws from a wide range of western and non-western music. He has performed live improvised accompaniment for more than a dozen silent films, was a featured performer on the “God of War II” and “Trials Evolution” video games, and provided shred guitar for the Cartoon Network’s “Powerpuff Girls” television show.

Michael Dimin has performed solo bass from Istanbul to Los Angeles. A prolific writer, his books include “The Art of Solo Bass” and “The Chordal Approach,” and he is a regular contributor to many bass-related magazines. He has been a featured TEDx speaker and taught clinics and master classes at Gerald Veasley’s Bass Boot Camp, The Bass Collective, the National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Detroit Bass Fest, and the Virginia Bass Forum. He is also an artist for Euphonic Audio, Boomerang Music, and DR Strings.

Aaron Shields was born and raised in Albany NY, where he started playing drums at the tender age of three. From jazz on Friday to marching band on Saturday and church on Sunday, his musicianship and versatility made him the perfect fit as the newest member of Embe Esti. He was a member of the Schenectady County Community College’s Jazz Combo that won the prestigious DownBeat Community College Jazz Combo Award.

This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.