Spanish singer Ana María Ruimonte and American jazz bassist and music director Alan Lewine are set to release an album titled Soprano meets Bass, Sephardic Treasures on Ansonica Records.
The album includes traditional medieval Sephardic songs arranged by Lewine and Ruimonte. The arrangements combine the medieval the sounds of Moorish Iberia with jazz, flamenco, Middle Eastern music, and bel canto.
The Spanish Jews were expelled from Spain in the 15th Century and resettled throughout the world, mixing their musical traditions with those of other peoples they encountered. A Spanish Law in 2015 made possible the acquisition of Spanish citizenship to Sephardic Jews that are descendants of those expelled from Spain in the 15th Century without renouncing their current citizenship and without requiring residency in Spain.