Sophie Solomon:

A couple of weeks ago I ran into the Nu Jewish Music website and had fun looking into some of the groups that I wasn't familiar with (See my post about Israeli guitar and tuba band 'Boom Pam'). I'll post about others later, but today is Sophie Solomon day. Solomon is a fantastic violinist who has played with the British group Oi Va Voi, recorded the wonderful "Solomon & Socalled's HipHopKhasene" with Socalled, and has worked with a wide range of Jewish and non-Jewish performers including Rufus Wainwright, Killing Joke, and Theodore Bikel as well as Gary Lucas, Brave Old World, and The Real Tuesday Weld. (See Solomon's Wikipedia page for a full bio.) Her musical style draws heavily on klezmer, but includes a wide array of classical, jazz, and popular influences as well.

Solomon released her first solo album, "Poison Sweet Madeira" last year. This concert video, shot and posted by YouTube member "RoughSilk" catches Solomon in Athens in July on tour supporting the album. Great stuff. Give it a listen. You can pick up her album through her website or your favorite music vendor.

Sophie Solomon - Burnt By The Sun (Athens 10/07/2007)


On a side note, I love the voice of the male lead singer but am not sure who it is. The wikipedia page gives credit for male vocals to Richard Hawley and Ralph Fiennes. I think that's Hawley performing here and will try to find out. If so, I'm going to need to look into of his solo work.