Combining a lyrical sense that is distinctly American with Middle Eastern harmonies and inflections, Achinoam Nini (known simply as Noa) is one of the most popular artists in Israeli-American music.

Born in Israel, Noa moved to upstate New York from Israel with her family when she was just a year old. Relocating to the Bronx at the age of five, she eventually went on to attend New York's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts. Wanting to further explore her Jewish / Yemenite / American / Israeli heritage Noa left New York at 17 to finish high school in Israel. During her two years of mandatory military service (as a singing sergeant) she entertained troops throughout the country.

In 1990, while attending the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, she met Gil Dor, an accomplished guitarist who was also one of the school's co-founders. The two quickly began collaborating and in 1991 released Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor Live, a collection of jazz and pop tunes sung in Hebrew. In 1993 they released Achinoam Nini Gil Dor, an anthology of poems by famous Israeli poets Leah Goldberg and Rachel set to original arrangements. The album quickly went platinum, catapulting the two to stardom in Israel.

In 1993 jazz legend Pat Metheny, a former instructor of Dor's at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, brought the pair to the U.S. to record Noa, which was released on Geffen Records that year. Calling, her second album for Geffen, was recorded at the estate of Rupert Hines near Paris and was released in 1996.

Noa's latest offering, Both Sides of the Sea, is a compilation of her Hebrew language songs. It was released on the Mondo Melodia label in 1998.

Matt Rosenfe