Yasmin Levy

Yasmin Levy (Hebrew: יסמין לוי‎; born December 23, 1975) is an Israeli singer-songwriter of Judeo-Spanish music.

Yasmin Levy
Yasmin Levy in 2008
Background information
Born (1975-12-23) December 23, 1975
Jerusalem
OriginJerusalem, Israel
GenresSephardic music, world, flamenco
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2000–present
LabelsAdama
Websiteyasminlevy.net

Biography

Levy is of Sephardic descent.[1] Her parents were immigrants from Turkey.[1] Her late father, Yitzhak Isaac Levy (1919–1977),[2] was a composer and hazzan (cantor), as well as a pioneer researcher into the history of the Ladino music and culture of Spanish Jewry and its diaspora, being the editor of the Ladino language magazine Aki Yerushalayim.[3]

Career

With her distinctive and emotive style, Levy has brought a new interpretation to the medieval Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) song by incorporating more "modern" sounds of Andalusian flamenco and traditional Persian music[4] as well as combining instruments like the darbuka, oud, violin, cello, and piano.

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 Judería (Spanish: The Jewish Quarter). In 2006, she was nominated again, then in the category "Culture Crossing".[5]

On her second album, La Judería, she also covered the popular songs "Gracias a la Vida" by Violeta Parra and "Nací en Álamo" 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 (itself being a cover[6] of "The Song of the Gypsies" (Greek: "Το Τραγούδι των Γύφτων"), written by Greek songwriter Dionysis Tsaknis in 1990).

Levy's work earned her the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Award for promoting cross-cultural dialogue between musicians from three cultures.[7] 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-year-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.[8]

Levy is a goodwill ambassador for the charity Children of Peace.

Discography
Yasmin Levy in concert in Warsaw, September 2008 (Mano Suave World Tour)

Full albums
  • 2004: Romance & Yasmin
  • 2005: La Judería
  • 2006: Live at the Tower of David, Jerusalem
  • 2007: Mano Suave
  • 2009: Sentir
  • 2012: Libertad (release date: October 2012)[9]
  • 2014: Tango (release date: October 2014)
  • 2017: "Rak Od Layla Echad" ('Just one more night')

Singles for movie soundtracks

Collaborations
  • 2008: Tzur Mishelo Achalnu, for Avoda Ivrit 2, featuring Shlomo Bar.
  • 2010: Tzur Mishelo Achalnu, for Kol HaNeshama, featuring Shlomo Bar.
  • 2012: Yigdal, for Yehuda Halevi Pinat Ibn Gabirol - The Collection

References
  1. "Yasmin Levy Makes Music out of Madness". eSefarad (in Spanish). Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  2. "Music & Vision"
  3. Aki Yerushalayim
  4. "Yasmin Levy: Passion from exile". London: The Independent. July 15, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  5. "BBC – Radio 3 – Awards for World Music 2006 – Yasmin Levy". BBC. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  6. "Vengo (2000) – Soundtracks". IMDB. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  7. "2008 Event Media Release – Yasmin Levy". Sydney Opera House. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  8. "BBC – Awards for World Music 2007 – Yasmin Levy". BBC. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  9. Yasmin Levy Presenting songs from her new album, Libertad + Tanja Tzarovska: Hidden Songs of Macedonia
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