“An important study for Jewish urban music in general and for the present work in particular, is that of Amnon Shiloah and Erik Cohen (1983). Many of the authors’ observations hold true for the Sephardic communities of Canada as well as the Israeli scene. One pertinent remark is the seemingly obvious, but often overlooked, observation that many musicians had been in significant touch with western culture before leaving their country of origin (233); indeed, Judeo-Spanish songs music by their very nature have always relied heavily on creative borrowing from surrounding cultures.” (Cohen 1989, 25)