MOR KARBASI - The Beauty and the Sea (Mintaka/New Note)

Myspace does the business again as London-based Israeli singer Mor Karbasi blossoms from internet rumour to new and exciting prospect in one highly-accomplished step.

A handful of well-received live performances have helped as well, but a test of this rich, passionate music that’s drawn from the Jewish Ladino tradition of Spain is how to get it onto disc without losing its emotional power.

With her highly promising debut release, Mor Karbasi manages this more often than not, her lithe vocals (relatively high-pitched, and with none of the Arabesques associated with compatriot Yasmin Levy) riding a beautifully-arranged bed of instrumentation — acoustic and electric guitar, oud, mandolin, bass, violin and percussion, with harmonium and harpsichord played by Mor herself — on a set that ranges across mournful balladry, light, peppy folksiness and high-charged, full-throated intensity.
It’s when Mor tackles the latter styles that this CD really works — opening track Roza makes dramatic use of flamenco rhythms, there’s a touch of spry Balkan playfulness on Mansevo Del Dor (the squeaky voiced Roma singer Mitsoura springs to mind) and the emotive double-tracked vocal on Komo El Pasharo Ke Bola brings some Sephardic lustre to a sparse, percussive backdrop.

Mor Karbasi can do mournful too — En La Kaye De Mi Chikez has deep pangs of cello that bottom out what could have been a thin vocal performance, the drama of La Pluma is all thrusting flamenco guitar and wailing violin, and Mor’s harpsichord adds a medieval flavour to La Galana I La Mar.

At times the album can veer ominously towards a schmaltzy, daytime Radio 2 feel, particularly on tracks furnished with string arrangements, but with songs split evenly between those written by Mor (alongside partner and guitarist Joe Taylor, who also produces) and more traditional numbers, there’s enough variety and strength of purpose here for the album as a whole to work with remarkabl consistency. The Beauty and the Sea is a stirring debut from a very talented new name on the Ladino scene.

This review first appeared on www.flyglobalmusic.com

YASMIN LEVY - Mano Suave (Network Medien)

The third album from the Israeli singer whose aim is to keep the Spanish-Jewish Ladino tradition alive, is another small step closer to the classic album we are waiting for.

This time Lucy Duran is on board as producer, so you know you’re guaranteed beautifully arranged songs with a warm, sympathetic texture. Levy’s emotional phrasing is deployed in a range of styles that circle the central Sephardic sound - Paraguayan harp, kora, flamenco guitar, Arabic instruments such as oud, ney flute and qanun all feature - with a noticeable inclination towards Turkish and North African influences (Anglo-North African singer Natacha Atlas is another guest artist).

Una Noche Mas is the highlight, and has the feeling of an instant World Music classic. Set to a waltz-like rhythm, the track builds in intensity against an echoing (almost ’60s sounding) production, with Yasmin at her emotional, sultry best. Elsewhere, there are one or two moments where Yasmin could be accused of playing things too safely, in particular when the roots influences are moved to the background in favour of lush strings and a smoothed out, emotionless vocal tone (not so much Moorish as MORish?), leaving the album a couple of tracks short of being the truly great album of which she is surely capable.

That’s a minor gripe, however, and if Yasmin Levy’s first album, Romance and Yasmin, was a remarkable statement of intent, and the follow-up, La Juderia, a worthy exercise in marrying traditional Spanish modes — especially flamenco — with the music of the Sephardic Jews, then Mano Suave takes Ladino one step further into a diverse and at times thrilling mix of emotive singing and evocative roots music. This is one to enjoy while awaiting the next step with eager anticipation.

This review first appeared on www.flyglobalmusic.com