Ariana Savalas is an American actress, singer, songwriter, burlesque performer, and the daughter of actor

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

. She is a resident headlining performer and emcee for

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the initialism PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early ...

. She was one of the original members of the group alongside

Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...

Casey Abrams Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is an American musician from Idyllwild, California, who finished in sixth place in the 10th season of ''American Idol,'' five weeks after being saved from elimination by the judges. A self-titled debut al ...

, Robyn Adele Anderson, and Morgan James. Savalas tours with the band and has appeared in a number of the group's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

videos, two of her videos in the top five most popular videos in the group's history. She has been called the

Dita Von Teese Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Que ...

of music, fusing her original music with elements of traditional vaudeville and burlesque. She was described by ''Las Vegas Magazine'' as "the musical burlesque queen" and "the mistress of the modern Moulin Rouge".

Early life

Savalas was born in Los Angeles, California, but was raised in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

following her father's death in 1994. She attended an all-girls Catholic convent school in her teenage years before graduating early and moving to London to pursue a career in performance. She studied Shakespeare and acting at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

in London and is a member of Playhouse West, a repertory theater directed by

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

. Before turning to burlesque, Savalas toured and recorded in Europe as a pop singer in her teens with European producer

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

. She made a guest appearance as Bobby Lainsford on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

hit drama ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' in 2010. Savalas began her music career in Los Angeles as a singer/songwriter playing venues on the Sunset Strip, such as the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boule ...

and

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

Career

Debut singles and EP

Savalas' first jazz EP, ''Sophisticated Lady'', was a combination of her original compositions as well as two standards from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" i ...

, including the song "

Sophisticated Lady "Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington. Background Additional credit is given to publisher Irving Mills whose words were added to the song by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approva ...

" by Duke Ellington,

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

, and Irving Mills which she named the record after. Savalas was widely known in the cabaret world headlining in venues such as the

New York Friars' Club The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Ma ...

and

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cele ...

's late New York cabaret Feinstein's. She was the opening act for saxophone legend

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

and has toured the world with 14 time Grammy nominee

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

''Postmodern Jukebox''

Savalas was introduced to

Scott Bradlee Scott Bradlee (born September 19, 1981) is an American musician, pianist, and arranger. He is best known for his viral videos on YouTube, including his work under the moniker Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) — an ever-evolving, revolving collective ...

in 2015 and began collaborating on online videos and touring with the band soon after. They have performed at venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Greek Theater, and the O2 Academy in London. Savalas was their first female emcee, and hosted the first-ever PMJ

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special "Postmodern Jukebox: The New Classics".

Burlesque

Savalas began incorporating her own music into live shows, drawing influences from the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

era of German Cabaret and the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...

. Her 2019 live album, "The Ménage a Tour! Live from Las Vegas" was a showcase of music, songwriting, dance, comedy, and burlesque. Savalas released a single and music video for her original song "Legendary Lover" in early 2020.

''The Dead Dance''

Savalas released her debut full studio record, ''The Dead Dance'', in early 2020. The album was released exclusively under Cargo Records in Germany and digitally worldwide. The first single, "Memory", features trumpet player Brian Newman.

Discography

* ''The Dead Dance'' * ''Legendary Lover'' (single) * ''Sophisticated Lady'' * ''The Ménage a Tour! Live from Las Vegas''

Featured with Postmodern Jukebox

* ''The Essentials'' - "No Diggity" * ''Swipe Right for Vintage'' - "Criminal" * ''Top Hat on Fleek'' - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" * ''Selfies on Kodachrome'' - "Blank Space" * ''PBS presents Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, The New Classics * ''Emoji Antique'' - "Bad Romance" * ''Historical Misappropriation'' - "No Diggity" * ''Swing the Vote'' - "Pony" * ''PMJ is for Lovers'' - "Blank Space" * ''Fake Blues'' - "Thong Song" * ''New Gramaphone, who dis?'' - "It Wasn't Me" * ''Jazz Age Thirst Trap'' - "Bad Guy" * ''The Essentials II'' - "All About the Bass" * ''33 Resolutions Per Minute'' - "Bye Bye Bye"

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savalas, Ariana American film actresses American television actresses American people of Greek descent Living people 1987 births 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Minnesota Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from Minnesota American jazz singers American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American singers American neo-burlesque performers Alumni of RADA Jazz musicians from California Jazz musicians from Minnesota 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from California