About Daphna
Daphna began her musical pursuit as a classical music student playing upright bass and later on as the lead singer with the army big band. She studied theater as well as jazz piano and meditation, and is proud to have been a student of renowned voice teacher Mr. Seth Riggs (Los Angeles, CA). Daphna performed at many jazz clubs, including Smoke in NYC, The Baked Potato in L.A. and others in Las Vegas, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma.
"Daphna is a singer with rare jazz sensibility. I was glad to be a part of her latest recording project, and I'm sure you will be captivated by her fine effort."
- Lew Tabackin
Daphna holds an MA degree in Far Eastern philosophy and her musicianship is guided by the spiritual freedom that meditation creates. “For me," she says, "jazz is a kind of Tao - a route created while walking. It's a pathway towards healing and feeling connected; a way of touching people; a journey of self expression.”
"Daphna Levy is a revelation… Levy’s voice is her own. There is a beguiling feel to her timbre and she manages to marry sassiness with an alluring gutsy texture and pristine clarity. When Levy sings you hear every single syllable, and get exactly what she is trying to convey with the lyrics".
"It is a mark of a person’s self-confidence when he or she just puts themselves out as they are, as if to say: “This is me. Love me or leave me.” In Levy’s case, with Late Night Journey it is clearly a case of the former".
- Barry Davis, "The Jerusalem Post"
A natural storyteller, Daphna is a master of her own voice. Her vocal artistry ranges from dynamic and gutsy to bluesy and sultry. Improvisation is Daphna's second nature, and her sound and style are often described as reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan. She is also a songwriter and arranger.
Daphna Levy was born and raised in Tel Aviv. Descending from a cantor lineage and a member of the Levy ancient tribe of spiritually elated musicians, she grew up with a deep passion for music. At the age of ten, attending a Gospel choir live concert made her realize that singing was her calling.
Throughout the years, Daphna has appeared at various jazz festivals, including Wichita jazz Festival, Kansas; the Expo World Fair; Tel Aviv jazz Festival and Israel Festival in Jerusalem, to name a few. She has been the lead singer with Hed Big Band for two decades. Her music is broadcast on various radio stations and on internet radio.Daphna is also an experienced vocal jazz teacher and a certified Theta Healing practitioner.
Her fascination with exploring the crossover potential of different music genres led to some of her upcoming projects, such as jazz fusion with classical music and with electronic music.