KlezCalendar

Sarah Aroeste

Sarah Aroeste is the founder of the NY-based Ladino Rock group, the Sarah Aroeste Band. American-born Aroeste, with family roots in Spain and more recently in Salonika, Greece, launched her band to help bring Sephardic music to a new generation. Most influenced by the music and language of her Spanish origins, Aroeste grounds her music in Ladino, an ethnic form of Castilian Spanish developed by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Although this mysterious pan-Mediterranean language has, unfortunately, been fading away, the musical legacy of Spanish Jews highlights the strength of an oral tradition that spans many centuries and crosses many geographic boundaries. Determined to help keep Ladino music alive, Aroeste updates and reinterprets the tradition by fusing it with more modern sensibilities. With its unique Ladino Rock sound, the Sarah Aroeste Band takes traditional Ladino music from across the Mediterranean and combines it with contemporary influences such as rock, funk, and blues. Since Aroeste launched her band in 2001, she has toured and amassed a loyal following across the nation and abroad, and has worked hard to bring an updated, exciting new sound to Ladino and Sephardic music.

Michal Cohen

Michal Cohen’s family comes from Yemen, but she was born and raised in Israel. Michal arrived in the United States after receiving a scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She graduated in 2000, and has sung in many prestigious venues, including Kats Theatre with the Pittsburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Merkin Hall, The Museum for American Jewish History in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Symphony Space, Scullers Jazz Club, Joe’s Pub, Satalla, Pianos, and the Knitting Factory. Her recordings include collaborations with artists such as DJ Cheb I Sabbah, Guillermo Nojechowicz, Frank London, Avi Elbaz, and many more. Her vocals have appeared on two movies: “Historias Minimas”, by Carlos Sorin, and Pearl Gluck’s “Divan” (Tribeca Film Festival). She has toured widely, including the Avivir Festival, Festival Del Desierto, San Luis Potosi in Mexico, Ottawa Folk Festival in Canada, Tamaulipas World Music Festival in Mexico, as well as the Far East. Her range extends from ancient Yemenite songs through to contemporary. Besides English, Yemenite, and Hebrew, Michal has sung in Bulgarian, Spanish, French, Yiddish and Portuguese. She is the recipient of a “Finalist” from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2002, as well as The Vocal-Jazz Cleo Laine Award. Her reputation is building as one of the most eclectic and exciting vocalists on the East Coast.

Eyal Maoz

Eyal Maoz is an exceptionally original composer and one of the most unique guitarists in New York City. His bands varies from delicate Jewish music to wild avant garde groups, or anything in between, such as the legendary Lemon Juice Quartet. His latest ensemble, Edom, is about to release its first CD, featuring the incredible John Medeski on organ (Tzadik Records). This band bridges rock, jazz and wild improvisation aesthetics with the graceful sounds of Jewish and ethnic songs. Tonight Eyal will feature some of Edom's Jewish compositions with an exciting New York City ensemble, and the energy should be certainly magical.

DJ Handler

The brains behind Modular Moods and many of the hyped parties in and around NYC, dj handler's music defies stereotypes. He frequently includes collaborations with non-electronic musicians, creating textural fusions of live and recorded sound. He references Ashkenazic cantorial music, traditional Yemenite melodies and hip hop. Along with his experimentation, he is also a world travelled club dj. www.modularmoods.com