Yael Zaza: Zaza Flamenca! A Most Extraordinary Musical Surprise
WOW!! We’ve really never heard anything like her. Sometimes the best experiences are
the ones you never planned. My wife and I happened upon Yael ZaZa Flamenca
performing at a near-by restaurant—and within minutes we knew we had discovered
someone extraordinary.
French-Israeli singer, guitarist and composer Yael ZaZa is a true international musician,
having performed around the world and appeared at venues like New York’s legendary
Blue Note and B.B. King Blues Club. She performs in multiple languages and moves
almost effortlessly among Flamenco, rumba, Gypsy jazz, French chanson, Latin music,
jazz and contemporary pop.
But none of that quite prepares you for seeing her live.
What absolutely captivated us was the way Yael and her guitar partner took familiar
music—international standards, classics and modern hits—and seemingly reinvented it
on the spot. Suddenly a song you’ve known forever is racing along on fiery Spanish
guitars, wrapped in Flamenco and Latin rhythms, and sounding completely new. Her
own repertoire gives you some idea of the range: Bamboleo, Zorba the Greek, La Mer,
Havana and even Adele’s Someone Like You.
And the musicianship was electric. Two acoustic guitars trading rhythms, accents and
impossibly fast runs until it felt less like accompaniment and more like a musical
conversation. Add Yael’s voice, personality and obvious joy in connecting with an
audience, and this became one of those performances that Just. Stops. Time.
Perhaps that’s the best description of Yael ZaZa Flamenca: world music without borders.
Familiar songs travel through Paris, Spain, Latin America, the Mediterranean and
beyond—and somehow arrive back sounding both recognizable and completely
transformed.
We went out for a quick dinner in a new city. What we found was a musical experience
we will never forget.