Her 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] 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 (Ladino) song by incorporating more "modern" sounds of Andalusian flamenco and traditional Turkish music[5] as well as combining instruments like the darbuka, oud, violin, cello, and piano.[citation needed]
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.[2]
"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."
“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, Yasmin Levi has given a great number of concerts all over the globe. She has already performed in Spain, Iran, Turkey, USA, the UK, 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 singer Natacha Atlas, Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises and Spanish singer Buika.
Yasmin Levy mixes with the audience at Sept. 2022 concert in Warsaw
In 2008, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Children of Peace, a UK-based charity fighting to alleviate the plight of all children caught up in the Middle East crisis.[3]
