About – Nani Music

My Story

6 years ago I embarked on an unexpected journey following a song I rediscovered on the streets of Morocco. After a sold-out performance at the Tangier Jazz Festival I visited Fez, my grandma's hometown. She spoke #Ladino but my father forbade us to speak to each other in any other language but Hebrew. Instead, she sang some songs in the kitchen, in this mysterious dialect no one could understand. I still remember peeling beans with her, listening to the fascinating rhythms and hope that one day I'll be able to sing them myself, as well as she did.

Then 20 years later, hearing the same melody sung on the narrow streets of downtown Fez felt like a destined moment. As if I was meant to disconnect from my roots and rediscover them, when I was ready. A traditional Ladino song was sung in Arabic, through the throats of a few hundred people on the square in front of Fez's blue gate and brought me back to my grandmother's kitchen.
Now this song is reawakening, as the 1st single of a new album of traditional Ladino songs titled "Andalusian Brew". The language of the Sephardic Jews from the North of Africa and the Iberian peninsula.

Noam “Nani” Vazana is one of the only artists in the world that write & compose new songs in the endangered Ladino language. In her new album ‘Ke Haber’ (What’s New) she captures the spirit of the ancient, matriarchal language and culture and propels it into the 21st century with socially pertinent lyrics, celebrating migration, gender and female empowerment.

The soundscape bridges over tradition and modern life, capturing the sounds and smells of the marketplace and fuses them with raw, flamenco like vocals and surprising instrumentations. Soft choral-like trombones embellish mariachi guitars & percussion with glimpses of piano & cello tracks, make this record a magical realistic mosaic. Nani unveils a piece of history we don’t easily find in other mythology & anthropology.

Nani ranked the Top-20 on the World Music Charts Europe (#13 Ke Haber), represented the Netherlands at the EU Music Festival in Vietnam and performed at the Kennedy Center USA, BBC Radio 3, the London Jazz Festival UK and the Jodhpur RIFF festival India.

Nani showcased at APAP USA, Jazzahead DE and Injazz NL. The held talks at TEDx Amsterdam NL & hosted 3 WOMEX panels. The Dutch NPO network released a mini documentary about her musical work and she also composed music for BBC4 and NPO documentaries.

Nani is a professor at the London Performing Academy of Music and the Jerusalem Music Academy, she chairs of the Amsterdam Artist Collective and founded Why DIY Music and Nova Productions.

Awards:
ACUM Album Award, IL 2021
PAIS Album Award, IL 2020
SENA Album Award, NL 2019
Arts Council England Premiere Award, UK 2019
Sephardic Music Award, ES 2017
iTunes Top-20 bestseller, NL 2015
ACUM Album Award, IL 2011