NANI VAZANA
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’s music was documented for the Library of Congress USA in 2023, in an honor 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, Colors of Ostrava, Music Finland, AtojazZ, Norsk Jazz Forum, InJazz, Fira B! and more.
Showcases:
SXSW, USA 2024
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
Awards:
Library of Congress ‘Living Relic’ Honors 2023
PAIS Album Award, IL 2021
SENA Music Production Award, NL 2020
Arts Council England Premiere Award, UK 2019
Sephardic Music Award, ES 2017
“An extraordinary Jewish Moroccan performer with a ship’s horn power voice, playing Piano & Trombone with a flare of flamenco drama. Nani's work is invaluable, her irresistible songs give the endangered Ladino language a new life”
- de Volkskrant (Netherlands)
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...
(Nani) also gets to work with Shape Of My Heart by Sting: she seamlessly merges the very jazzy song with her own composition in Ladino Mi Korazon and so she forges an extraordinarily beautiful song in which love and melancholy go hand in hand. In Landarico she delves into history and reworks a medieval love ballad, with stately horns – recording 4 trombone tracks by herself."
-Luminous Dash - Belgium (Album Review)
"Nani Noam Vanzana is not only a multi-spectrum artist, whose triple-octave voice rings with passion, and whose diverse material reflects historical and anthropological thought; she’s committed to saving the rapidly, disappearing language of Ladino through celebratory melodies, souk-inspired rhythms and carefully curated stories."
- Lisa Torem, Penny Black Music
"The audience met the show with a standing ovation, enthused by Vazana’s energy and distinct quality of the concert."
-KC Studio - Missouri, Kansas City, USA
Ke Haber is such a rare album that takes you on a journey and afterwards gives you the impression that you have lived ten different lives in as many countries.
