Ruth Yaakov Ensemble

Ruth Yaakov (16 Might 1960, Israel; vocals), Juan Carlos Sungurlian (b. 17 Apr 1963, Montevideo, Uruguay; ud/bouzouki/saz), Shkelzen Doli (b. 9 August 1971, Elbasen, Albania; violin/accordion), Levent Tarhan (b. 1 January 1963, Adana, Turkey; percussion). Produced in Israel in 1993 by classically educated vocalist Yaakov, the Outfit mixes together several Mediterranean and Balkan designs. This is shown within the origins from the associates of the group (who, between them, possess previous knowledge playing folk, jazz, traditional and experimental music), in addition to within the instruments they play, such as three plucked string equipment (the Turkish saz, the Greek bouzouki and the center Eastern ud) as well as the darabukka (a Balkan percussion device). The groupings debut, Shaatnez, celebrates the music from the Sephardim, the Jews of Spain, who have been expelled off their homeland within the fifteenth hundred years and resolved in Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia. The record features 20 brief music, some sung unaccompanied by Yaakov, but mainly offering imaginative instrumental support in the trio who can meet the needs of the many styles assimilated with the exiled Sephardim.