Sarah Aroeste leads the world’s only Ladino Rock band, performing a funky fusion of Spanish, Mediterranean and American musical styles. Inspired by her family’s cultural heritage–orginally from Spain and later settling in Salonika, Greece– the Aroeste sound combines and updates aspects from her unique family background.
Most influenced by the music and language of her Spanish roots, Aroeste grounds her music in Ladino, or castillian Spanish, the language originated by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. This medieval form of Spanish was carried by Spanish Jews to the various points where they later settled, primarily along the Mediterranean coast and North Africa. In time, ladino came to absorb bits and pieces of languages all along the Mediterranean coast, including Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Hebrew.
This exotic pan-Mediterranean language has, unfortunately, been fading away and is hardly spoken anymore. But the musical legacy of Spanish Jews highlights the strength of an oral tradition that spans many centuries and unites a linguistic group. Until WWII the vibrant Spanish Jewish communities, particularly throughout the Mediterranean, had been able to perpetuate a significant Hispanic influence throughout the region. Following the War, Mediterranean Jews emigrated in large numbers to the U.S and Latin America, where their proud communities continue to retain a link, in many ways through music, with their medieval hispanic past.
American born, Aroeste has decided to revive this rich body of music by combining it with more contemporary musical influences. Encouraged by an influx of Latin-based music in America over the past few years, Aroeste hopes to make Sephardic music more recognized and accessible as well. Her family’s original Spanish-Greek name, Aroeste, or “of the West,” truly reflects her style of music by combining traditional Mediterranean sounds with contemporary rock, funk, jazz and blues. Using traditional instruments such as oud and dumbek, alongside electric guitar, bass and drums, Sarah Aroeste seeks to bring new life and energy to the beautiful and mysterious sounds of Sephardic music. Her sets include contemporary takes on traditional Mediterranean ladino songs, as well as original songs written in English, set to Spanish Mediterranean backgrounds.
A La Una
Arvoles
Hija Mia
Puertas
June 2006 Radio Safarad
Listen to an exclusive interview Spring 2006 with the Madrid-based radio station on the Sarah Aroeste Band experience.
Listen to it here
September 16, 2005 The Star Ledger
Jewish pop pourri:Ladino rock BY VICKI HYMAN
Read it here (pdf)
April 2005 Heeb Magazine: Heeb 100
October 2004 Chashm Andaaz Magazine/ Iranian Jewish Chronicle
A Sephardic Rock Star – Diva Embraces Music from the Past
9-10-04 The LA Jewish Journal
I am stunned … at how successfully Aroeste has succeeded in setting this music in a way that makes it contemporary, without losing the very traditional feel of the music and the music’s roots.
Click here for the full article
8-30-04 The Chicago Tribune
From the first notes that sounded, there was no question that Chicagoans were hearing music of the highest artistic level…[Yet the festival’s] cultural agenda seemed almost modest alongside the reach of singer/songwriter Sarah Aroeste, who finds inspiration in the ancient poetry of Ladino…
NPR” Ladino, the Language of Sephardic Jews on Morning Edition audio
NPR’s Renee Montagne talks to two experts [Sarah Aroeste and Rabbi Mark Angel] about the past and future of Ladino, the 500-year-old language of Sephardic Jews.
8-15-03 The Forward
Sarah Aroeste is a woman on a mission. The 27-year-old singer, who mixes rock and pop influences with the Ladino music of her ancestors, isn’t just out to entertain. She wants to redefine the term “Jewish music.”… With the explosion in the popularity of world music, Aroeste may indeed have stumbled upon a fusion that no one else has yet hit upon.
2004 CD ROOTS.com
A fine and promising debut release by a young American singer exploring Sephardic music in the modern world. A la una ranges from traditional folk forms to jazz, rock and many of the hyphens in-between.
6-20-03 The Jewish Week
With a bare midriff and gyrating hips, Sarah Aroeste performs jazz and rock blended into favorites from her Sephardic repertoire… The music is no mere attention-grabbing gimmick for Aroeste, who founded her own record label two years ago. It’s a connection to her Greek Jewish heritage and ancestral roots in medieval Spain.
6-11-03 The Village Voice
Ethnic eclecticism from a sultry warbler of Greek ancestry…(Shakira eat your heart out!)
4-4-03 Baltimore Jewish Times
When Sarah Aroeste discovered the music of Spanish and Mediterranean Jews, she took to it at once. Much of her extended family comes from Greece, and these songs spoke to that part of her heart.
2-03-02 The New York Blueprint
Living in a city with as rich a Jewish music scene as New York is a privilege. The next time you find yourself picking between New York’s eclectic offering, find a show by Sarah Aroeste…
Coming Soon.
