What is Miri Ben-Ari?
[[Image:Miri Ben-Ari.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Miri Ben-Ari playing in a concert in [[Montreal]], [[2005]].]] '''Miri Ben-Ari''' is a [[hip-hop]] [[violin]]ist. She was born in [[Israel]] in [[1978]] and was brought up in a small town near [[Tel Aviv]]. She was trained as a [[Classical music|classical]] violinist. She was a [[prodigy]] and was praised by famous violinists like [[Yehudi Menuhin]] and [[Isaac Stern]]. At the age of 16 she took herself to the [[United States]]. She spoke no [[English language|English]] at the time. In [[New York City]], she met several [[musician]]s such as the [[trumpet]]er [[Wynton Marsalis]] who supported her. She became interested in contemporary [[R&B]] (Rhythm and Blues) and [[hip-hop]]. In January [[2001]] she appeared in the [[Carnegie Hall]] with the rapper [[Wyclef Jean]]. Later that year her [[Television|TV]] performances on ''Showtime at the Apollo'' added to her fame. Her second jazz album, entitled ''Song of The Promised Land'' features the dance single ''Peace in the Middle East'' as well as two tracks together with Wynton Marsalis. She has now sold millions of [[vinyl record|records]], and is known as “the hip-hop violinist”. This was the title of a record released in [[2005]] by Universal which includes the single “Sunshine to the Rain” featuring [[Scarface]] and [[Anthony Hamilton]]. In [[2004]] she toured world-wide with rapper [[Kanye West]]. She has a very personal sound which is a mixture of Classical, [[jazz]], hip-hop, R&B and [[world music]]. She won her first [[Grammy award]] in 2005 for co-writing “Jesus Walks” which received a trophy for the “Best Rap Song” in 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Ari, Miri}} [[Category:1978 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Jazz musicians]] [[Category:Jewish Israeli musicians]] [[Category:Israeli violinists]]