Born in Constantinople
(now Istanbul), then the capital city of the Ottoman Empire, her
family moved to Salonika when she was a little girl. She later
settled in Athens, Greece, where she started her career as a dancing
girl in small theaters and tavernas. It was only in 1929, following
her first musical recording, that her career started to flourish.
During the 1930s she recorded some 500 songs, a record for any Greek
singer of the time. Her musical style was influenced by popular
Turkish performers of music in classical late Ottoman style like
Isak Al-Gazi (1889-1950, also Jewish). She managed to develop a
personal approach to the popular Greek music that combined musical
rebetic motifs of Ottoman inspiration with traditional Greek themes
from the mainland. Her repertoire included songs in Greek, Turkish,
Ladino, Armenian, Arabic, and Italian. Eskenazi enjoyed a particular
popularity among the Greek Diaspora during the 1930s and again in
the 1950s when she toured the US and made a number of recordings.
Her music was brought back to the public attention in the 1970s when
the rebetic style eventually gained respectability.
Bibliography:
ESKENAZE, Roza. (Performer). The
rebetico of Rosa Eskenazi [sound recording]. 1 sound disc :
digital, stereo; 4 3/4 in. Athens: Lyra, p1995.
Links:
Roza Eskenazi - Homepage
Roza Eskenazi - Biography
The Jewish Community in Salonika
