Ben Zimet, a native of Canada with a Jewish-Polish origin, is a Yiddish singer and story teller who lived for a long time in France.
After his youth spent in America, Ben Zimet settled in Paris, where he started performing on stage with the piano and accordion player Eddy Schaff, in 1973, in the famous Parisian café-théâtre La Vieille Grille. Later on, he presented his « Songs and Tales from the Yiddishland » all over the world.
Since then, Ben Zimet has performed many years on stage. He played in the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris and in the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. He participated in many international festivals of music and story telling. He also created the « Yiddish Cabaret », a show of music and theatre, in the Centre Pompidou of Paris, and initiated the first international festival of Yiddish culture, also in Centre Pompidou.
Ben Zimet recorded many discs, alone or with the singer Talila, who was his partner. He played in several movies, such as « Meetings with Remarkable Men » by Peter Brook, and more recently, « Swing » by Tony Gatlif, a tribute film to Gypsy music.
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