Kativar is Ladino for captivate. As their name suggests, the Kativar trio captivates audiences with their performances of (portraying the) oral traditional Sephardic songs from a variety of places such as Turkey, Morocco, Greece, the Northern Balkans and other parts of the Mediterranean.
Kativar showcases the complexity and richness of the Sephardic rhythms and sounds with their supporting instrumentation that includes oud, viola, djoze, guitar, dumbeck, riqq, naqqarat and bendir. Their repertoire contains a wide range of Ladino themes: wedding songs, ballads, the cycle of Purim and Pesah, lullabies and love songs. As a complement to the songs, Tomás Lozano weaves a continuous thread of historical facts, social functions, stories, and cycles of life proper to the Sephardim.
Kativar’s music has been featured in a documentary directed by Miguel Ángel Nieto, called: Tu boca en los cielos (Your Wishes in Heaven) https://vimeo.com/236884895 Aired on December 2nd, 2018 for the national TV in Spain, TV2, the documentary tells the stories of the Sephardim from North Africa.
Wide-ranging Ladino themes including wedding songs, ballads, the cycle of Purim and Pesah, lullabies and love songs.
Voice, viola, oud, djoze, guitar, dumbeck, riqq, naqqarat and bendir.
Presenter, Tomás Lozano, offers insight about the form and aesthetics as he weaves a continuous an entertaining thread of historical facts, social functions, stories, and cycles of life proper to the Sephardim.
Tomás Lozano (Granollers, Barcelona, 1967) | Voice, guitar, hurdy gurdy
Tomás Lozano is an internationally recognized singer, instrumentalist, composer, scholar and writer. Born in Barcelona, Spain, from Andalusian parents, Lozano was raised between Granada/Almería and Barcelona. In his teens, he created the Catalan folk music ensemble, Els Trobadors del Vallès. His musical career took off while touring Europe, playing folk, traditional and medieval music at festivals in Switzerland, southern France, Germany, northern Italy, etc. By 1993, Lozano was touring Canada and the United States, sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Exterior Affairs. Since then, Lozano resides in the United States where he continues to perform solo and with a number of other musicians across the country. Known for his eclectic musicianship, Lozano’s performance of Spain’s traditional ballads sung in Castilian, Catalan, Galician and Ladino stand out as iconic. He is a permanent member of Daily Bread & Butter, Simkhe, Istanbul Breeze, !Viva la Pepa!, Salaam and Kativar. Lozano has been performing Sephardic repertoire in the USA since 1994, at times alongside international artists, such as former Ladino singer, Judy Frankel. In 2011 Lozano performed with Ensemble Lipzodes at ‘The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’ in New York. In addition to performing, he lectures at colleges and universities.
For more information about Tomás Lozano visit: www.tomaslozano.com
Dena El Saffar (Chicago, Illinios, 1972 ) | Viola, ‘oud, djoze
Dena El Saffar, of Iraqi and American heritage, was exposed to Arabic music in the suburbs of Chicago, where she grew up attending Iraqi gatherings with her family. She began learning the violin at the age of six. At age 17, completely engaged in classical music, she accompanied her father to Baghdad and became enchanted by the music of Iraq and the Middle East. In 1993, while obtaining a classical music degree from Indiana University, she founded the group Salaam, a Middle Eastern music ensemble which has performed throughout the United States. She has studied with Hamid Al-Saadi, Munis Sharifov, Mohammed Gomar and Anwar Abudragh, and has performed with the Master Musicians of Jajouka and Youssou N’dour. Dena, who plays the viola, violin, joza and kemanche, has also performed with Central Eurasian ensembles, salsa groups, bluegrass, blues and rock bands. With Salaam, El Saffar has performed with international artists, including Grammy Award winner, Youssou N’Dour; Real World recording artists, The Master Musicians of Jajouka; Smithsonian recording artist, Rahim AlHaj; Moroccan Gnawa musician, Hassan Hakmoun; Iraqi Maqam masters, Hamid El-Saadi and Farida; Turkish multi-instrumentalist, Emin S. Sağbaş; Egyptian trumpeter, Sami El-Bably; Azerbaijani kemanche player, Munis Sharifov and others.
For more information about Dena El Saffar visit: www.salaamband.com
Tim Moore (Bloomington, Indiana, 1967) | Percussion (dumbeck, riqq, naqqarat and bendir)
Tim Moore grew up in the Midwest and began playing drums at the age of 11. A natural percussionist, he began performing with different groups early on, gaining experience in a variety of genres including jazz, blues, salsa and rock. In his quest to become a better, more diverse musician, he began learning rhythms and instruments from around the world, eventually bringing his focus to Middle Eastern percussion. He has studied Arabic percussion with Wessam Ayoub, Sattar Al Saadi, Lateef Al ‘Abeedi, N. Scott Robinson, and Mohammed Khalil Salih. Moore plays the dumbek, riqq, naqqarat, bendir, tabl and zanbur, as well as drum set, bass and guitar. He has performed with international artists, including Grammy Award winner, Youssou N’Dour; Real World recording artists, The Master Musicians of Jajouka; Smithsonian recording artist, Rahim AlHaj; Moroccan Gnawa musician, Hassan Hakmoun; Iraqi Maqam masters, Hamid El-Saadi and Farida; Turkish multi-instrumentalist, Emin S. Sağbaş; Egyptian trumpeter, Sami El-Bably; Azerbaijani kemanche player, Munis Sharifov and others.
For more information about Tim Moore visit: www.salaamband.com
