40 years ago, the young Hungarian born musician and songwriter Leslie Mandoki was one of the leading voices of the anti-Soviet student opposition in his country. After several arrests, he managed to escape communism and the iron curtain through a tunnel. Mandoki decided to stay in Germany and became a successful musician. Over the years, he collected countless platinum album awards and became one of Europe’s most influential music producer with a major recording studio complex. Every year, he is delivering an outstanding production reaching the top of the entertainment industry.
After arriving in a refugee camp in Germany, he was asked by an officer about his future plans. Leslie stated that his goal was to play music together with his great musical “idols” and named Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, Jack Bruce from Cream and the young and ambitious Al Di Meola. Leslie followed his fantastic Vision and invited the big names of the Rock and Jazz genre to his studio to record his songs and turn them into a collaborative album, which would be performed live on stage in his hometown of Budapest, and in 1992, Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce and Al Di Meola became founding members of Leslie Mandoki’s band project Man Doki Soulmates!
It was a tribute to the people who lived in oppression, without meaningful freedom and in strong censorship. Music to bridge the gap between cultures. This was the beginning of the Man Doki Soulmates. Today, they have jointly recorded many albums featuring their own songs and they have played countless, unforgettable live concerts.
ONE band with remarkable lineups including singers and players like Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce, David Clayton-Thomas, Chaka Khan, Chris Thompson, Bobby Kimball and Steve Lukather, Nick van Eede, Eric Burdon, Nik Kershaw, Greg Lake, Al di Meola, Randy and Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, John Helliwell, Mike Stern, Anthony Jackson, Victor Bailey, Pino Palladino, Paul Carrack, Peter Frampton and Jon Lord.
The Man Doki Soulmates don’t just stand for virtuosity, but particularly for handmade music or how Leslie Mandoki puts it: “Even in times of Twitter, social media and short texts on the smartphone, Music to us, remains a handwritten love letter.” The characteristic of the concerts of Man Doki Soulmates are derived from the interplay of the individual Soulmates artists, which form a World-Star band. Original Soulmates songs and collective improvisation on the highest level are as much part of the show as the Mega-Hits of the individual Soulmates members. “One stage – one band!”