Stephanie Nakasian at the Attucks Jazz Club and Congregation Beth El

Stephanie Nakasian did not start out as a vocalist. Majoring in economics at Northwestern University, she received her BA and MBA, then entered the world of financial consulting for major banks in New York City and Chicago. Growing more and more dissatisfied with her career, she decided in 1981 to leap into the world of music, and she hasn't looked back. Her debut record, Comin' Alive, earned a four-star rating from esteemed critic Leonard Feather. Nakasian toured with vocal jazz master Jon Hendricks in the mid-'80s, which she refers to as her "vocal jazz apprenticeship."

Not only is Nakasian an acclaimed singer with 15 celebrated albums, she also teaches jazz voice at the University of Virginia (30 years and currently) as well as being the author of three books on jazz singing and "The Tip Jar," an online educational series for singers.

She recently appeared locally twice, first at the Attucks Theater a room she has sung in often. Backed by pianist John Toomey, bassist Jimmy Masters and drummer Frank Russo, Nakasian presented a mixed bag of well known and not so well known tunes. Her ebullient personality and her voice, at times moving, emotional, warm, and dynamic, have always made her a crowd favorite.

Her second appearance was at Congregation Beth El, a conservative synagogue where she presented a program called "Jewish Roots of the Great American Songbook." Accompanied by Bart Kuebler on keyboards, Karl Kimmel on bass and Russell Scarbourgh on drums, the quartet presented a program of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen the list goes on and on. Between songs Nakasian talked about the background of the composers and how their upbringing helped shape the music they wrote. For instance, Catfish Row from Porgy and Bess represents a pre- World War II European shtetl, and the opening lines of "It Ain't Necessarily So" mimic the Hebrew prayer recited before the reading of the Torah. A special guest, Rabbi David Bockman, an accomplished trumpet / flugelhorn player (while serving a congregation in New Orleans, his klezmer band played at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival) accompanied the quartet on a few numbers.

The following are photos from both performances.