Biography
Ruth Yaakov, born 16 May 1960 in Israel and handling vocals, joins Juan Carlos Sungurlian, born 17 April 1963 in Montevideo, Uruguay and specializing in ud, bouzouki and saz, Shkelzen Doli, born 9 August 1971 in Elbasen, Albania and playing violin and accordion, plus Levent Tarhan, born 1 January 1963 in Adana, Turkey and supplying percussion. Yaakov, a classically trained vocalist, launched the Ensemble in Israel during 1993, where the musicians blend Mediterranean and Balkan traditions. Their varied national backgrounds mirror this fusion, given prior work across folk, jazz, classical and experimental idioms, while the instrumental lineup further underscores the point through three plucked lutes—the Turkish saz, Greek bouzouki and Middle Eastern ud—alongside the darabukka, a Balkan percussion instrument. Shaatnez, the group’s first recording, honours the repertoire of the Sephardim, Jews driven from Spain in the fifteenth century who later established communities in Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. Twenty brief pieces make up the album, several performed by Yaakov without accompaniment, yet most supported by inventive trio arrangements that accommodate the stylistic range absorbed by those displaced Sephardim.
Albums
