Yasmin Levy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Yasmin Levy in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1975-12-23)23 December 1975 (age 49) |
| Origin |  Israel Turkey |
| Genres | Sephardic music,world,flamenco |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | www |
Yasmin Levy (born 23 December 1975) is a singer and songwriter of Judeo-Spanish music.
Yasmin Levy was born on 23 December 1975. She is ofSephardic Jewish descent. Her parents wereimmigrants to Israel fromTurkey.[1]
Her father,Yitzhak Isaac Levy (1919–1977),[2] was a composer andhazzan (cantor), as well as a pioneer researcher into the history of theLadino music and culture ofSpanish Jewry and itsdiaspora, being the editor of the Ladino language magazineAki Yerushalayim.[3] He died when Levy was just one year old, but she names him as one of her greatest musical influences.[4]
She is a mother of two children Michael Amir and Manuela Amir.[1]
With her distinctive and emotive style, Levy has brought a new interpretation to the medieval Judeo-Spanish song by incorporating more "modern" sounds ofAndalusianflamenco andtraditional Turkish music,[5] as well as combining instruments like thedarbuka,oud, violin, cello, and piano.[citation needed]
Her debut album wasRomance & 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.[2]
On her second album,La Judería, she also covered the popular songs "Gracias a la vida" byVioleta Parra and "Nací en Álamo" from the filmVengo, directed byTony Gatlif, which in its original version won the 2001César 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).[citation needed].
In her own words in 2007:[7]
"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."
In her own words in 2023:[8]
“If there were no religions, music would be the religion of humanity. As a person, I believe that each of us is a different color of God, and each color has its own beauty and God sent his colors to this world through us. We are just the conduits. If we understood this, we wouldn’t hate and fight each other, if we understood, that each of us is a part of God, if we connected and loved God’s colors, our world would be beautiful and without wars. Thank God for letting me bridge people and cultures through music.“
— Yasmin Levy
In her career, Levy has given a great number of concerts all over the globe. She has already performed inSpain,Iran,Turkey,USA, theUK,Germany,France,Poland,Switzerland and many other countries. She has also entered into a variety of music collaborations during her career, such as with Egyptian singerNatacha Atlas, Turkish singer IbrahimTatlises and Spanish singer Buika.
In 2008, she was appointedGoodwill Ambassador forChildren of Peace, a UK-based charity fighting to alleviate the plight of all children caught up in theIsraeli–Palestinian war.[9]
In 2006, Levy was nominated in the "Culture Crossing" category for thefRoots /BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards.[10]
In 2006, Levy's work earned her theAnna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Award for promoting cross-cultural dialogue between musicians from three cultures.[11]
Levy’s original composition, “Me Voy,” won the 2008 USA Songwriting Competition for the best world music song.[3]
She has been nominated for theBBCWorld Music Award and Holland’sEdison Award (2008).[4]
The Sunday Times namedSentir as one of theTop 100 albums of 2009, and placed it in their Top 10 World Music releases of the year.[12]
Yasmin received the“Pomegranate Award for Music” from theAmerican Sephardi Federation(2023).[5]
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