Ljuba Davis Ladino Ensemble

After the Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain by the Inquisition, they scattered widely, but especially they made their way toward the Eastern Mediterranean. The rich Sephardic tradition of song, with its many points of contact with the music of Greece, the Balkans and North Africa, is given full play on <em>East and West</em>. Disc one features the radiant, powerful voice of Ljuba Davis, a veteran in the revival of Jewish music going back to the '60s, while disc two is comprised of instrumental versions of the same songs, whose sources are varied. Powered by thrumming string bass and led by the glistening jangle of oud, bouzouki and Spanish guitar, the ensemble's performances are hypnotic and intense.