Achinoam Nini, known internationally as Noa, is not a jazz artist. Born June 23, 1969 in Tel Aviv, she studied at the Rimon School after her military service and met guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Gil Dor there, beginning a musical partnership that has run for decades.

Her jazz connection runs deeper than a single credit. Dor had met guitarist Pat Metheny years earlier, and a phone call after one of Nini and Dor's shows led to Metheny producing her self-titled 1994 album, Noa, released internationally on Geffen Records. Metheny brought in his own rhythm section, bassist Steve Rodby and pianist Lyle Mays, both long-time members of the Pat Metheny Group, recording in top New York studios. The album became her international breakthrough. Metheny Group Productions is credited again six years later on 2000's Blue Touches Blue.

Nini's own music draws on 1960s singer-songwriters (Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen) filtered through her own Yemenite roots and Gil Dor's background in jazz, classical, and rock. She has performed in 52 countries, was the first Israeli artist to perform at the Vatican, and is also known for human rights activism alongside her music career. The two Pat Metheny-affiliated albums are the clearest point where her work and modern jazz actually intersect.