Miri Ben-Ari

Few artists can say they're career launch involved both superstar rapper Kanye West and Carnegie Hall favorite Isaac Stern, but Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari can. When the Israeli-born virtuoso's family couldn't afford her violin lessons anymore, it was Stern who stepped in, gifting the young prodigy a violin. She was later chosen to play in the prestigious Israeli Army String Quartet and fell in love with jazz, a love that brought her to the United States and the Mannes School of Music in New York City. Straight out of school she released her debut in 1999. Titled Sahara and...