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Stephanie Nakasian

Stephanie Nakasian is an exciting, well-seasoned vocalist and master of innovative jazz improvisation, completely authentic with a fresh and vibrant sound all her own. Bringing high energy to every performance, Stephanie enthralls listeners with her pure tones and a flawless delivery, engaging them on a personal level with a love for the music that is playful, electric and spontaneous in story and song.

Then & Now: Stephanie came to international attention in the mid-80s when she sang and toured with the vocal jazz master Jon Hendricks and Company – what she considers her “vocal jazz apprenticeship.” She continues to tour and record as a vocal leader.

Recordings: An active and prolific recording artist, Stephanie's debut CD “Comin’Alive” (V.S.O.P.) featuring legendary saxophonist Phil Woods received four stars from critic Leonard Feather. “French Cookin’” (V.S.O.P.) spotlights the beautiful combination of Stephanie’s voice with virtuoso French hornist Bobby Routch. Her “Bitter Sweet” CD (JazzMania) is highly lauded along with “Escapade” as she takes the audience on a fantasy swing voyage and her “Lullaby in Rhythm” in tribute to Kenton singer June Christy featuring saxophonist Harry Allen. In 2006 two CDs were released: “Thrush Hour” (VSOP), a tribute to 20 great jazz singers including a 20 page booklet co-authored by Scott Yanow with pictures, bios and educational tips as to how to listen to each singer to hear the nuances of style and phrasing and “I Love You” (Spice of Life) was released in Japan to rave reviews including a full article in “Swing Journal” in which they called Stephanie “the perfect jazz singer.” Additional recordings include "Billie Remembered," "Dedicated to Lee Wiley" and "If I Ruled the World," in addition to three karaoke - You Sing The Hits features: "Great Ladies of Jazz Vol.1," "Great Ladies of Jazz Vol. 2" and "You Sing Billie Holiday." In 2012 she released her highly acclaimed CD “Show Me the Way” with Capri Records.

Tributes& Education: Stephanie’s original concert revues and composer and singer tributes have been favorites with concert audiences, schools and universities. Her “Great Ladies” revue tracing the development of jazz singing has also been offered as an academic course at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where Stephanie is currently on faculty as a vocal instructor and coaches students on jazz phrasing, listening, improvisation and repertoire preparation for performance. She has directed and coached numerous vocal jazz ensembles and is a regular workshop presenter at schools and conferences each year.

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New York Beat

Stephanie Nakasian: The Renaissance Woman of Jazz

Read "Stephanie Nakasian: The Renaissance Woman of Jazz" reviewed by Nick Catalano


For decades, Stephanie Nakasian has been swinging through an immensely challenging jazz repertoire with astonishing aplomb. Her audacious ventures into vocal territory that others have carefully avoided have resulted in recordings and performances of unrivaled excellence. From pioneering vocal efforts with singer Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross to the rigorous charts of The Danish Radio Big Band and the improvisational intricacies of saxophonists Phil Woods and Scott Hamilton, Nakasian has constantly associated herself with jazz subtleties in uncharted territory.

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Album Review

Stephanie Nakasian: Thrush Hour

Read "Thrush Hour" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Stephanie Nakasian, who has been recording since the 1980s, has released an ambitious tribute to those singers she calls the “Great Ladies of Jazz." On Thrush Hour, the vocalist tries to connect to each of twenty female vocalists, going back as far as Bessie Smith.

Arranged in more or less chronological fashion, the album is almost like a compilation of the years in which these singers made their respective marks upon the world of vocal jazz. ...

137
Album Review

Stephanie Nakasian: I Love You

Read "I Love You" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Jazz Vocalist Stephanie Nakasian has an active history over the past several decades, working with vocal jazz legend Jon Hendricks and Family in the mid-1980s. Around that time, I first saw Nakasian when she appeared with Phil Woods. Nowadays, Nakasian resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she has been recording and, with her pianist/partner, Hod O'Brien, has a daughter who sings and records under the name Veronica Swift.

I Love You was released in Japan in ...

134
Album Review

Stephanie Nakasian: Thrush Hour

Read "Thrush Hour" reviewed by Suzanne Lorge


Stephanie Nakasian is a great gift to jazz buffs--and especially to those who love singers. Not just for her exuberant performances but for her ability to articulate in layman's terms what it is to be a jazz singer. Her latest recording on V.S.O.P. Records, Thrush Hour, combines masterful singing, top-notch musicianship, and an educator's expertise to deliver a comprehensive “study of the great ladies of jazz, as the subtitle reads.

On this release Nakasian approaches a generous number ...

204
Album Review

Stephanie Nakasian: Invitation to an Escapade

Read "Invitation to an Escapade" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Of Armenian descent, Stephanie Nakasian first gained prominence in the mid-1980's when she hooked up with vocalese master Jon Hendricks. Since then, she has appeared in a number of venues including TV and clubs. Nakasian sings without fancies or frills. Straight from the heart singing with rapt attention to the lyrics make her one of the top story tellers on the contemporary scene. On this album, Nakasian often comes across as a torch singer in a nightclub scene in one ...

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Interview

Interview: Stephanie Nakasian

Interview: Stephanie Nakasian

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

I came upon Stephanie Nakasian in 2009, shortly after the released of Stephanie Nakasian: Lullaby in Rhythm, A Tribute to June Christy (V.S.O.P.). Few singers were paying much attention to Christy then, and Stephanie did a wonderful job. While she didn't try to channel Christy, she did have a fine sense of Christy's dry exuberance and hip phrasing. Stephanie's rendition of Interlude still knocks me out. If you're in New York on June 5, Stephanie will be appearing at Birdland ...

Performance / Tour

Swinging style and bebopping finesse

Swinging style and bebopping finesse

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

Stephanie Nakasian has had many facets to her career. She was a banker in Chicago and Manhattan. Then she caught the jazz bug. She heard bebop pianist Hod O’Brien, started working with him a bit in 1980 and a year later quit her day job to become a full-time singer. She built her chops as a two-year member of the vocal group, Jon Hendricks and Company. She married O’Brien, and figured out how to balance motherhood, performing (often with her ...

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Radio

Dick Hyman, Stephanie Nakasian On Riverwalk Jazz This Week

Dick Hyman, Stephanie Nakasian On Riverwalk Jazz This Week

Source: William Carter

The historic Filoli Estate and Gardens south of San Francisco is the setting for this week’s Riverwalk Jazz broadcast, “Sweet Ballads and Red Hot Pianos." Piano legend Dick Hyman and jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band for an outdoor concert including a set of songs by composer Walter Donaldson. The program is distributed in the US by Public Radio International, on Sirius/XM satellite radio and can be streamed on-demand from the Riverwalk Jazz website. You can ...

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Recording

Stephanie Nakasian Sings Billie Holiday

Stephanie Nakasian Sings Billie Holiday

Source: Michael Ricci

Inner City Records proudly presents “Billie Remembered," the newest album from jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian. “From my earliest years listening to jazz... I'd often wondered if it would be possible to recreate Billie's first and finest recordings. It wasn't until 2009 that I encountered a singer equal to the task," says Irv Kratka, president of Inner City. Nakasian turned out to be more than equal to the task, recreating the mood of Billie's work while putting her own spin on ...

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Performance / Tour

Stephanie Nakasian with the Hod O'Brien Trio at Dizzy's

Stephanie Nakasian with the Hod O'Brien Trio at Dizzy's

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

Monday, August 6th Stephanie Nakasian With The Hod O'Brien Trio with Neal Miner-bass, Jeff Brillinger-drums Plus Special Guest 13-Year old vocalist Veronica Swift

At

Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Frederick P. Rose Hall Jazz at Lincoln Center Broadway at 60th Street 5th Floor Reservations Call: 212 258-9595

“She has all the feel and charm of an early Ella Fitzgerald." - Tempo, New Orleans, LA

“For Stephanie Nakasian it's ...

“Vocal virtuosity…broad range of material that showed her assurance on easygoing ballads, soft, Brazilian scat singing, and punchy pep songs.” - John S. Wilson, The New York Times

“She has all the feel and charm of an early Ella Fitzgerald.” - Tempo, New Orleans, LA

“For Stephanie Nakasian it’s all about Swing” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Swings and scats with authority“… “Evokes Ella and Sarah without sounding overly derivative“… “Sensuous” Mike Joyce, The Washington Post

“…one of the important jazz singers in the world today.” New Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (Oxford Press)

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Concerts

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Thrush Hour

V.S.O.P. Records
2007

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I Love You

Spice of Life
2007

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Invitation to an...

Chase Music Group
2001

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