Emily Abraham

The critic Roy Sander has called Emily “interesting, intelligent, eclectic, very appealing, and filled with wry humor.” Lynn DiMenna of Cabaret Scenes called Emily a “promising jazz bird” while Peter Leavy of Cabaret Scenes said “Abraham’s interpretations of the songs hit the target.” Emily grew up in rural western New York where she attended a high school that didn’t have any performing arts programs, and so she gravitated toward singing in the chorus. While growing up she learned traditional art songs, hymns and operettas. When she was 16 years old, a summer stint at Eastman School of Music opened her up to the world of jazz, which is when she learned her first standard, Skylark. At that time Emily decided that what she wanted most was to sing jazz. She was awarded a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College, which she dropped after one year in favor of moving to New York City. She attended Stella Adler Conservatory for two years full-time and after graduation, Emily did a national tour followed by local productions in the city. Her journey eventually brought her to Eighty Eights, where she met Rick Jensen. Rick introduced her to quite a mix of music like that of Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Sarah McLachlan, and Cole Porter. Through Rick she met Lina Koutrakos, and under their direction, Emily performed in several shows at clubs such as the Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, and the Metropolitan Room. Currently Emily is performing her set of re-arranged jazz standards, with a few esoteric pop tunes thrown in, at venues in and around the NYC area.

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