KlezCalendar

Blending a psychedelic sensibility and a pan-Mediterranean sensuality, Basya Schechter leads her band, Pharaoh's Daughter, through swirling Hasidic chants, Mizrachi and Sephardi folk-rock, and spiritual stylings filtered through percussion, flute, strings and electronica. Basya's sound has been cultivated by her Hasidic music background and a series of trips to the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Egypt, Central Africa, Turkey, Kurdistan and Greece.

Smadar was born in Sderot, Israel. She grew up in a Moroccan household listening to Arabic music. Following her military service, she moved to New York to study theater, voice and movement. Smadar pursued acting at first, living bi-coastally between Los Angeles and New York, where she acted in theatre, films and commercials. In 2001 Smadar decided to shift her focus to music, following an encounter with Mr. Rashid Halial, a tremendously talented singer and violinist from Morocco. Together they formed trio that concentrated on Moroccan music, and began to perform in a variety of NY venues. Smadar's current repertoire has expanded to include several languages, including Arabic, Moroccan, Spanish, Ladino and Greek, and material that includes both original compositions and traditional songs. The full lineup of her current band includes accordion, Turkish clarinet, bass, drums, kanun and darbuka, and the arrangements are embedded in Turkish and Middle Eastern idioms. Smadar debuted her new material in Israel this past summer, receiving accolades from all the major media outlets. For more about Smadar, please check out her website at www.smadarlevi.com, where you can find music, photos, press articles and a video clip of a live performance.

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.