Biography
Born Patricia Stephanie Nakasian on 29 August 1954 in Washington, DC, she grew up in Bronxville, New York, where her mother had sung during the 1940s alongside the Meyer Davis band. From an early age she pursued classical studies, mastering both piano and violin, participating in choral ensembles, and receiving private vocal instruction. Although she initially aimed for a career in business, earning an economics degree and spending time in banking and financial consulting, a 1980 encounter with pianist Hod O’Brien prompted her to leave those pursuits, begin performing alongside him, and later marry. By the mid-1980s her work with Jon Hendricks’s ensemble Company drew wider notice, leading to a series of well-received solo albums.
She has appeared at jazz festivals across both Europe and the United States. Frequent broadcasts with Jim Cullum have featured her in programs devoted to 1930s repertoire and to the legacies of Helen Humes, Peggy Lee, Helen Ward, and Lee Wiley. A June Christy tribute placed her with the Pete Rugolo orchestra, while collaborations with Dick Hyman have honored composers Hoagy Carmichael and Walter Donaldson. Live and recorded performances have also linked her with Harry Allen, Wayne Andre, Urbie Green, Scott Hamilton, Milt Hinton, Vic Juris, Joe LaBarbera, Chuck Riggs, Clark Terry, Nabil Totah, and Phil Woods, and she has performed in Denmark with the Danish Radio Big Band.
Nakasian has taken her concert revues, including The Great Ladies Of American Song and other tribute programs, to venues throughout the United States, with particular emphasis on university audiences. One of these productions, Band Singers To Broadway, Bebop And Beyond, supplies the foundation for a course she teaches at the University of Virginia. At The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, she instructs jazz voice and vocal jazz improvisation, and she regularly leads seminars and workshops on varied facets of singing at colleges and universities.
She has appeared at jazz festivals across both Europe and the United States. Frequent broadcasts with Jim Cullum have featured her in programs devoted to 1930s repertoire and to the legacies of Helen Humes, Peggy Lee, Helen Ward, and Lee Wiley. A June Christy tribute placed her with the Pete Rugolo orchestra, while collaborations with Dick Hyman have honored composers Hoagy Carmichael and Walter Donaldson. Live and recorded performances have also linked her with Harry Allen, Wayne Andre, Urbie Green, Scott Hamilton, Milt Hinton, Vic Juris, Joe LaBarbera, Chuck Riggs, Clark Terry, Nabil Totah, and Phil Woods, and she has performed in Denmark with the Danish Radio Big Band.
Nakasian has taken her concert revues, including The Great Ladies Of American Song and other tribute programs, to venues throughout the United States, with particular emphasis on university audiences. One of these productions, Band Singers To Broadway, Bebop And Beyond, supplies the foundation for a course she teaches at the University of Virginia. At The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, she instructs jazz voice and vocal jazz improvisation, and she regularly leads seminars and workshops on varied facets of singing at colleges and universities.
Albums
