| Yasmin Levy |
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 Touring Australia February – March 2008
Direct from Jerusalem comes one of the worlds’ most celebrated global
music stars, YASMIN LEVY, for her first national tour of Australia.
Performing her riveting repertoire from all her recordings, she’ll be
accompanied by a 5 – piece ensemble of musicians playing the Turkish
ney, cajon, duduk, bass, clarinet, and guitar.
A captivating live performer, Yasmin Levy revives the most beautiful
songs from her Ladino heritage, an ancient form of singing dating back
to 15th century Spain. Her third album, ‘Mano Suave’, produced by Lucy
Duran and Jerry Boys, was released to rave reviews worldwide in October
2007, and features a remarkable duet with Egyptian chanteuse Natacha
Atlas. A recipient of the Anna Lindh Award for promoting
cross-cultural dialogue, Yasmin explains ‘I have come to understand
better than ever before that my role as an artist must be to help
contribute in whatever small way I can to avoid Ladino music becoming
extinct in the modern world. With this record I have chosen to return
home to my ancestral roots and I couldn’t be happier.’
Yasmin Levy and her ensemble will perform at the UWA Perth
International Arts Festival, trans: mission program, Adelaide Festival
Centre, along with concerts in Melbourne, Brisbane, Lismore, and Sydney.
Born with an inheritance of history, music, beauty and talent in
Jerusalem in 1975 her voice ‘once heard, never forgotten’, is the ideal
vehicle for this emotionally and spiritually charged music. Her
Australian debut performance at the WOMADelaide Festival left her
audience breathless, and saw her CDs fly out of the shop.
Yasmin’s impeccable lineage includes her Turkish born father, Yitzhak
Levy, the leading figure in the world of research into and preservation
of the Judeo-Spanish culture and Ladino language. Despite his death
when Yasmin was barely two years old, her singing mother imparted this
ancient music to her talented daughter.
Ladino, a UNESCO listed ‘endangered language’, is an archaic form of
Spanish that comes from fifteenth century Spanish. The Ladino
repertoire boasts exquisite melodies and heart-wrenching, romantic
lyrics, so that it is often compared to the blues, and to Portugal’s
fado music. Yasmin preserves and revives the most beautiful songs from
the Ladino/Judeo-Spanish heritage, mixing it with Andalucian Flamenco,
and her own contemporary expression.
Yasmin’s debut album “Romance & Yasmin” created a stir amongst
world music aficionados worldwide. Her follow-up, “La Juderia”,
featuring Ladino and Flamenco music in her uniquely emotive style, was
likewise rapturously received and confirmed the buzz of a major
artist’s arrival.
During 2006 and 2007, Yasmin toured the UK, Canada, Mexico, Europe,
plus appearances at the WOMAD festivals in New Zealand and Australia.
In 2005 she toured the UK, Europe and the USA, including appearances at
London’s Ronnie Scott’s and WOMAD festivals in the UK and Spain,
closing the year with her debut performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Yasmin has been nominated for the BBC World Music Awards in each of the
past 3 years, and was a standout on BBC 2 TV’s renowned ‘Later….with
Jools Holland.’
‘Levy is an artist of unnerving power’ Newsday, New York
"Levy is one of the finest singers in the Middle East... powerful, passionate and intriguing." The Guardian
Jaslyn Hall presents
YASMIN LEVY
TOUR DATES
Adelaide
Saturday 16th Feb | trans:mission program, Dunstan Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre | www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au
Perth
Mon 18th &
Tues 19th Feb | UWA Perth International Arts Festival | www.perthfestival.com
Melbourne
Thursday 21st Feb | The National Theatre, 20 Carlisle St, Kilda, Melbourne | www.nationaltheatre.org.au or 03 9525 4611
Brisbane
Sunday 24th Feb | Brisbane Powerhouse | www.brisbanepowerhouse.org or 07 3358 8600
Lismore
Thursday 28th Feb | Star Court Theatre, Lismore | www.norpa.org.au or 13000 66772
Sydney
Saturday 1st March | Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House | www.sydneyoperahouse.com or 02 9250 7777
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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