Yasmin Levy
Yasmin Levy, born on December 231975 in Jerusalem, is an Israeli singer of Sephardic music. Her late father, Yitzhak Levy, was a pioneer researcher into the long and rich history of the Ladino music and culture of Spanish Jewry and its diaspora. With her distinctive and emotive style, Yasmin has brought a new interpretation to the medieval Ladino/Judeo-Spanish song by incorporating more "modern" sounds of Andalusian Flamenco, as well as traditional instruments like the oud, violin, cello, and piano. In her second album, La Judería (Sp: "The Jewish Quarter"), she also covered the popular songs Gracias a la Vida by Violeta Parra and Nací en Alamó from the film Vengo, directed by Tony Gatlif, which in its original version won the 2001 César Award for Best Music Written for a Film.
Her debut album was Romance & Yasmin in 2000, which earned her a nomination as Best Newcomer for the fRoots / BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards 2005, followed in 2005 with her second album La Juderia. In 2006 she was nominated again, then in the category Culture Crossing.[1]
Yasmin's work earned her the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Award for promoting cross-cultural dialogue between musicians from three cultures.[2] In her own words:
I am proud to combine the two cultures of Ladino and flamenco, while mixing in Middle Eastern influences. I am embarking on a 500 years old musical journey, taking Ladino to Andalusia and mixing it with flamenco, the style that still bears the musical memories of the old Moorish and Jewish-Spanish world with the sound of the Arab world. In a way it is a ‘musical reconciliation’ of history.[3]
Yamin is currently on a world tour to promote her new album Mano Suave, which was released in October 2007.
Discography
- 2004: Romance & Yasmin
- 2005: La Judería
- 2006: Live at the Tower of David, Jerusalem
- 2007: Mano Suave
See also
External links
- Official Homepage
- Official Myspace page
- Interview with Yasmin Levy, Fly magazine.
- Video sample: La Alegría by Yasmin Levy
References
- ^ "BBC - Radio 3 - Awards for World Music 2006 - Yasmin Levy". BBC. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
- ^ >"2008 Event Media Release - Yasmin Levy". Sydney Opera House. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ "BBC - Awards for World Music 2007 - Yasmin Levy". BBC. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
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