Stephanie Nakasian (born August 29, 1954) is an American jazz vocalist and voice teacher.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Nakasian grew up in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...

. She studied classical piano and violin, sang in choirs, and studied voice. She majored in economics at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where she received her BA and MBA. She subsequently worked as a financial consultant to major banks in New York and Chicago until 1981, when she began working as a musician full-time.

Musical career

Nakasian first came to international attention when she sang and toured from 1983 to 1984 with

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

and Company. She has since toured and recorded as a leader and with pianist

Hod O'Brien Walter Howard "Hod" O'Brien (January 19, 1936 – November 20, 2016) was an American jazz pianist. O'Brien was born in Chicago. He attended the Hotchkiss School and then studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music (1954� ...

, her partner since 1980. She has appeared frequently as a guest artist with the

Jim Cullum Jazz Band James Albert Cullum Jr., better known as Jim Cullum Jr. (September 20, 1941 – August 11, 2019), was an American jazz cornetist known for his contributions to Dixieland jazz. His father was Jim Cullum Sr., a clarinetist who led the Happy Jazz Ba ...

on their internationally syndicated public radio show, '' Riverwalk Jazz'', to portray a variety of jazz singers. More recently, Nakasian portrayed herself on the show with

Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...

for tributes to composers Hoagy Carmichael and Walter Donaldson. She appears at international festivals and national music education conferences including the MENC,

MTNA Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is an American nonprofit professional organization for the support, growth, and development of music-teaching professionals, with more than 17,000 members in 50 states, and more than 500 affiliated loca ...

, and

IAJE International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), formerly a not-for-profit corporation based in Manhattan, Kansas, was a volunteer-run organization that, among other things, allocated student scholarships through its approved festivals program. ...

nationals. She has appeared in concerts as a featured performer alongside important figures in jazz, including Urbie Green,

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

, Scott Hamilton,

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...

Roy Haynes Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

Philly Joe Jones Joseph Rudolph "Philly Joe" Jones (July 15, 1923 – August 30, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Early career As a child, Jones appeared as a featured tap dancer on ''The Kiddie Show'' on the Philadelphia radio station WIP. He was ...

, and

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

. She also tours regularly.

Teaching

Nakasian currently teaches voice at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

, Virginia and the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has directed vocal jazz ensembles and gives numerous workshops each year to schools and conventions (including the Virginia Music Educators annual convention and at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

in Richmond) on "Teaching Jazz Voice," "Coaching Jazz and Show Choirs on Jazz," and "How to Sing what's NOT on the Page." Nakasian is also the author of the vocal jazz instruction manual, ''It's Not on the Page! How to Integrate Jazz and Jazz Rhythm into Choral and Solo Repertoire'', which was published in 2001.

Personal life

Nakasian was married to pianist

. She is the mother of singer

Veronica Swift Veronica Swift (born May 14, 1994) is an American jazz and bebop singer. Early life Swift was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of a family of musicians. Her parents are late jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and singer Stephanie Nakasian. ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Comin' Alive'' (V.S.O.P, 1989) * ''French Cookin (V.S.O.P, 1992) * ''BitterSweet'' (Jazz Mania, 1993) * ''Invitation to an Escapade'' (Chase, 2001) * ''Lullaby in Rhythm: In Tribute to June Christy'' (V.S.O.P, 2002) * '' Thrush Hour: A Study of the Great Ladies of Jazz'' (V.S.O.P., 2006) * ''I Love You'' (Spice of Life, 2006) * ''The Classic Songs of Billie Holiday'' (Pocket Songs, 2009) * ''Dedicated to Lee Wiley'' (Classic Jazz, 2009) * ''Show Me the Way'' (Capri, 2012)

As guest

Bob Dorough Robert Lrod Dorough (December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018) was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, composer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Dorough became famous as the composer and performer of songs in the TV series ''School ...

, ''This is a Recording'' (Laissez-Faire, 1991) *

, ''It Don't Mean a Thing'' (Spice of Life, 2011) *

Sal Soghoian Sal Soghoian is a user automation expert, software developer, author and musician. He joined Apple Inc. in January 1997 to serve as the Product Manager of Automation Technologies. These technologies include AppleScript, Services, the Terminal, A ...

, ''To Be with You'' (1993)

References

* * * * *

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakasian, Stephanie 1954 births Living people Voice teachers Northwestern University alumni American jazz singers American women jazz singers American people of Armenian descent Kellogg School of Management alumni Singers from Washington, D.C. Women music educators 21st-century American women