Lucy Yeghiazaryan + Pasquale Grasso | Fox Cities

“An exquisitely tempered, full-bodied voice tailor-made for illuminating the great torch songs of a bygone era.” — DownBeat

As a young immigrant who has brought the real richness of her heritage together with her love for what is truly American, Lucy beautifully sounds out the best expression of the American dream. Since arriving from Armenia sixteen years ago at age 12, Lucy has enriched American jazz with a voice that is clear and strong, and with the release of her debut album Blue Heaven (Cellar Live Records 2019) critics and musicians agree that a new vocal force has arrived on the scene.

Lucy Yeghiazaryan grew up in post-Soviet Armenia and began playing the violin at the age of seven, when she also discovered her father's once-contraband collection of jazz records. Since electricity was intermittent, Lucy could only eke out short periods of listening, but the collection of jazz standards so captivated young Lucy that years before she ever learned to speak English, she began singing the tunes by meticulously mimicking the sounds and styles of the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

“Lucy has enriched American jazz with a voice that is clear and strong... critics and musicians agree that a new vocal force has arrived on the scene.” — All About Jazz

This early dedication to music led Lucy to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where she performed, entered vocal competitions, and joined the National Armenian Jazz Orchestra. Then, soon after Armenia's economic collapse in 2000, Lucy's parents brought her and her three sisters to America. Lucy also brought her passion for jazz to the States, where she applied for and received a full scholarship to New Jersey's Jazz for Teens program and happily became part of the local jazz community.

“Lucy has it all, an incredible tone, time that drives the band and that other “something” that makes you say this is the real thing. Definitely one of a kind.” — Grant Stewart

After college, where she studied world history, Lucy, still driven by music, moved to New York City to pursue a career as a singer, and in a few short years she has won the respect and accolades of the elders at the epicenter of the jazz world. As Tom Reney, award winning New England Public Radio host of Jazz a la Mode puts it "Lucy Yeghiazaryan is one of the most impressive jazz singers I've heard in a long time. Lucy's got what Louis Armstrong would call extra ingredients: A rich and expressive voice, a supple sense of swing, and a commanding stage presence." World renowned trumpet player Joe Magnarelli has called her a "breath of fresh air" on the scene in New York, where she can be found playing at Smalls, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Smoke and The Kitano. Lucy also leads a regular Tuesday session at Mezzrow Jazz Club and has a monthly residency at the historic Showman's Jazz Club in Harlem with her organ trio.