Proclaimed “the next world music superstar” by Robin Denselow of the London Guardian, Yasmin Levy has earned sold-out shows and record charting success abroad. Many of the Ladino works she performs were catalogued by her father, Yitzhak Levy. A composer and cantor born in Turkey, he was a musicologist devoted to the collection and preservation of Sephardic music passed down from generation to generation for more than five centuries. “My father taught these songs to my mother, who taught them to me in the kitchen,” explained Levy. “I took them from the kitchen to the stage.”  

Levy views Ladino as not just a history but a cultural heritage which she is determined to see live on. Her performances, which draw together musicians of a diversity of faiths and cultures working together in peace, embody her hope for the future. Singing in Spanish, French, Hebrew and Arabic, as well as Ladino, Levy and her band communicate the universal human experience through the unifying language of music.

Levy’s Ladino songs as well as self-penned works are featured on her third internationally released album titled “Mano Suave,” which will become her first CD release in the United States. Starting in late October through November, Levy will tour 10 U.S. cities in support of the album which has earned critical acclaim abroad. Although this is her first U.S. national tour, the raven-haired songstress has built quite a following here: in 2005, she performed standing room only concerts at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, New York’s Joe’s Pub, and Los Angeles’s Skirball Center. “‘Mano Suave’ is her masterpiece,” said Nigel Williamson, HMV Choice (UK).

“‘Mano Suave’ is what Jerusalem sounds like. That mixture of sadness, the past, sorrow; the smells of food; the three religions in the Old City, where you have a church, a mosque and a synagogue all together,” explains Levy. Recorded in London's Livingston Studios, the album was co-produced by Lucy Duran and Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club) and features players from Iran, Armenia, Greece, Paraguay, Israel, Turkey and Spain.

Levy has gone on to perform throughout the world and enjoyed critical acclaim and strong sales. She is outspoken about the need for cultural tolerance and perhaps the best example is her reaching out to Egyptian songstress Natacha Atlas who sings a duet with Levy on the new record. “Our duet is a message of hope,” Levy has said. “I want people to pay attention that a Jew and an Arab can make music together that comes from a place of mutual love and respect.”

The recipient of the Anna Lindh Award (2006) for promoting cross-cultural dialogue, Levy proudly serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for Children of Peace, a UK-based charity fighting to alleviate the plight of all children caught up in the decades-old Middle East crisis.

Levy will perform on Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. at Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, 55 E. State St., Columbus. Tickets are $25 and may be ordered by calling (614) 469-0939 or visiting www.capa.com.