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Cynthia Eytina

With a warm full voice and passionate overtones, Cynthia Eytina (formerly known as Cynthia Bostic) made a name for herself performing alongside some of the most talented musicians on the New York jazz scene in the 1990’s, including Gil Coggins, Juini Booth, Burt Eckoff, Roy Hargrove, Justin Robinson, Stephen Scott, Dwayne Burno, Christian McBride, Miles Griffith, Winard Harper, Philip Harper, and many others. Cynthia has a BFA degree in Jazz Vocal Performance and has studied with talented artists, such as Andy Bey, Sheila Jordan, Ann Marie Moss, Richard Harper, Garry Dial, Norman Simmons, Daniel Carillo, Mike Holober, Nancy Marano, Harolyn Blackwell, and Badiene Magaziner.

After enrolling in a jazz workshop at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in the early 1990's, Cynthia found herself immersed in classic jazz standards and the Great American Songbook.  She also began performing at the “University of the Streets” in the East Village where she was mentored by a stream of seasoned jazz musicians.  Around this time, she also attended the jazz workshops of piano legend Barry Harris each week, performed at community events, and performed regularly at late-night jam sessions. This provided her with opportunities to jam with some of the most talented musicians on the New York jazz scene at that time. These experiences led to weekly Monday night performances at the famed Village Gate and a spot as a featured singer with The Harper Brothers Band during an engagement at Eddie Condon's Jazz Club in 1993.

From 1993 to 1995, Cynthia worked with the prolific composer and bassist Bill Lee as a member of “The Family Tree Singers”.  The group performed Bill Lee’s original jazz compositions and excerpts from his folk-jazz operas with no amplification, often singing in a vocalese style and scatting, with Bill Lee conducting from behind his bass.  Bill Lee was known for his work with Odetta, Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, The New York Bass Violin Choir, and many others.  He also scored the soundtracks for some of the films of his son, Spike Lee. The New York Post published an article, dated January 18, 1994, that stated “Bill Lee’s concert Saturday at the East Village’s University of the Streets (where he periodically performs) featured his Family Tree Singers, a nine-member ensemble that deserves major exposure.  He’s found (or developed) a wealth of vocal  jazz talent, and the group has an identity of its own.”  Also in 1994, Bill Lee composed a ballad to highlight Cynthia’s vocal range. She had the honor of performing this song at an open rehearsal with “Bill Lee and the Natural Spiritual Orchestra [NASPO]” later that same year.

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