Baldi Olier

Baldi Olier was born in 1953 in Romania

Baldi Olier was born in Romania in 1953 and moved to Israel in 1964. He began playing guitar in 1965 with a private teacher in Rishon LeZion, who stopped teaching him after 3 months. Drawn to flamenco from a young age, he went on to teach himself.

During his army service he declined to play in a military band because he wanted to play only flamenco. Afterward he spent time in Spain and then in Paris, where he played in metro stations and later in a Spanish club.

His style blends flamenco and Gypsy music with Mediterranean motifs. In 1982 he took part in the show Ballad for the Gypsies, and in 1983 he released his first album. He later worked with Arale Kaminsky, the Dudaim and Paco Ibáñez, and with Spanish singer Ibáñez he toured Spain and France.

In 1992 he created a show marking 500 years since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, which was presented in the Knesset. He also appeared as a soloist with chamber orchestras and in 2003 toured New York, New Jersey and Chicago.