''Lea Ivanova'' (13 August 1923 – 28 May 1986) was a Bulgarian jazz singer.

Biography

Ivanova was born in

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second l ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

on 13 August 1923. She moved to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

( Underaged?? ), where she spent the rest of her childhood and sang in the children's choir of the Bulgarian Exarchate. In 1940s, she came back to Bulgaria ( 17 years old ?? ), where her intention was to study art at Sofia, Bulgarian capitol. She joined Slavic Talk jazz orchestra as a soloist instead when saxophonist Leon L'Alfàs suggested her to join. In the early 50s, she performed with various jazz and swing outfits. In 1956, she worked with the orchestras of Christo Vuchkov and

Dimitar Ganev Dimitar Varbanov Ganev (28 October 1898 in Gradets, Sliven Province – 20 April 1964) was a Bulgarian communist politician. He became the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (nominal head of state of Bulgaria) o ...

for Big Orchestra Concert Directorate conductors of which were

Boris Simeonov Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

and Emil Georgiev. During this period, she wrote a commercial jingle for a department store TsUM and ''Chico from Puerto Rico'' which was in Latin American style. In 1957, she and her husband, Eddie Kazasyan, formed Eddy Kazassian Combo orchestra with which they spent 30 years together. They performed in Belgrade in 1960 with Quincy Jones And His Orchestra, and in 1962 and 1963 at Friedrich Shtadt Palace in Berlin. From 1963 to 1983, Ivanova worked in various variety shows which included French

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

s, Russian romances, Bulgarian

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and Italian

canzone Literally "song" in Italian, a ''canzone'' (, plural: ''canzoni''; cognate with English ''to chant'') is an Italian or Provençal song or ballad. It is also used to describe a type of lyric which resembles a madrigal. Sometimes a composition w ...

. She also shared a stage with

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...

and

Udo Jürgens Udo Jürgens (born Jürgen Udo Bockelmann; 30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014) was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close ...

. Her music was banned in her home country, and she even was imprisoned and sent to a labor camp for promoting retrogressive sound and obscene behavior. After her release, she continued with her career till her final days. She died of cancer on 28 May 1986. Her labels include Bulgarian Balkanton, German Deutsche Vogue, Hungarian Qaliton, Polish MUZA and Romanian Electrorecord.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanova, Lea 1923 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Bulgarian women singers Bulgarian jazz singers People from Dupnitsa