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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.
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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.

Short Bio

With a ship’s-horn power voice & irresistible stage presence, Nani defends the endangered Ladino language. Her fascinating migration mix seeps into her songwriting, fusing the sounds of the marketplace with Flamenco drama. Nani learned Ladino from her Moroccan grandmother in hiding, as her father forbade them to speak Ladino at home. Library of Congress ‘Living Relic’ honours 2023, #11 International World Music Chart 2022, #13 World Music Chart Europe 2022.

Bio

Nani is world’s 1st Ladino songwriter. Her new album ‘Ke Haber’ (What’s New) captures the spirit of the ancient, matriarchal language & propels it into the future w/ socially pertinent lyrics celebrating migration, gender & female empowerment. The soundscape captures the sounds & smells of the marketplace and fuses them with raw, flamenco like vocals, soft choral trombone, mariachi guitar & percussion & piano.

Nani’s music was documented for the Library of Congress USA in 2023, in an honour reserved to few artists, naming her new Ladino repertoire as a “living relic”. Nani ranked #11 World Music Charts and #13 Music Charts Europe, 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, Jazz in the Park fest Romania and the Jodhpur RIFF festival India.

Nani held talks at TEDx Amsterdam NL, WOMEX, Hangveto, JAZZIAM, Colours of Ostrava, Music Finland, AtojazZ, Norsk Jazz Forum, InJazz, Fira B! and more.

Nani showcased at:
SXSW, USA 2025
Folk alliance, USA 2024 & 2023
Your Roots Are Showing, IE, 2024
World Music Festival, Taiwan, 2023
Fira B!, ES 2023
NAMM, USA 2022
APAP, USA 2021
InJazz, NL 2018
Jazzahead Clubnight, DE 2017

Awards:
Library of Congress ‘Living Relic’ Honours 2023
PAIS Album Award, IL 2021
SENA Music Production Award, NL 2020
Arts Council England Premiere Award, UK 2019
Sephardic Music Award, ES 2017

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