Aga Zaryan

Aga Zaryan
Aga Zaryan at the JVC Jazz Festival, Warsaw, Poland, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Agnieszka Skrzypek
Born	(1976-01-17) January 17, 1976 Warsaw, Poland
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Blue Note, Warner, EMI Music Poland
Associated acts	Darek Oleszkiewicz, Larry Koonse, Munyungo Jackson, Lukasz Zyta, Michal Baranski, David Doruzka, Geri Allen, Brian Blade, Michał Tokaj
Website	www.zaryan.com

Aga Zaryan (born Agnieszka Skrzypek on January 17, 1976) is a Polish jazz vocalist and the first Polish musician to sign with Blue Note Records.^[1]

Her albums have earned gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status.^[2][3] In 2008 she was honored with the Fryderyk award, the Polish recording industry's most prestigious prize. She was nominated for Woman of the Year in 2008^[4] by Gazeta Wyborcza, one of Poland's most widely circulated newspapers. From 2007 to 2013, she was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year in the annual readers' poll at Jazz Forum magazine.

Early life

Zaryan was born in Warsaw, Poland. At an early age, she traveled throughout Europe with her parents. Her father was a classical pianist, and her mother was an English language educator and author. Her parents shared a love for Stevie Wonder, Weather Report, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, and the Beatles. Zaryan spent part of her childhood and primary school education in Manchester, England. After returning to Poland, she won the Warsaw Tennis Championship when she was fourteen.

After hearing Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis, she decided to become a jazz vocalist.^[5] She studied voice at Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and attended the Jazz Studies program, graduating with honors. She was awarded scholarships to attend the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West, both in the United States.

Career

Her debut album, My Lullaby (2002) was recorded with Tomasz Szukalski, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Michał Tokaj, and Łukasz Żyta This collection of jazz standards brought her critical acclaim as one of Poland's premier vocal talents. In 2006, she performed at the JVC Jazz Festival in Warsaw, opening for Branford Marsalis. Since that time, she has appeared in clubs and at festivals in Poland, England, the United States, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Portugal, Russia, and Iceland.

In early 2007, she was in the United States for a series of concerts with her American line-up, appearing in jazz venues such as Joe's Pub in New York City and Blues Alley in Washington D.C. The concerts were enthusiastically received.^[6]

Zaryan recorded Picking Up the Pieces (2006) in Los Angeles with Larry Koonse (guitar), Munyungo Jackson (percussion), Nolan Shaheed (cornet), and Dariusz Oleszkiewicz (double bass). The album was composed of eleven songs that explored the emotional and spiritual experiences of women and was well-received critically and commercially, achieving double-platinum status.

Beauty Is Dying (2007) was the first album she sang in Polish. She recorded it with a seventeen-piece string orchestra. The album contained nine works by Polish poets that depicted the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Zaryan chose the works and sang compositions written and arranged by Michał Tokaj. She performed material from the album at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and the concert was broadcast live on Polish public TV and radio. In 2008, she was given the Fryderyk Award, the Polish recording industry's highest honor.

Awards and nominations

Awards

• Best Polish Female Jazz Vocalist, Jazz Forum Readers' Poll, 2007, 2008,^[7] 2009,^[8] 2010,^[9] 2011,^[10] 2012,^[11] and 2013
• Best Poetic Album, Fryderyk Award for Księga Olśnień, 2011^[12]
• Best Poetic Album, Fryderyk Award for Beauty is Dying, 2008^[13]
• 50 Most Important Ladies of the Capital 2008, Życie Warszawy (Warsaw press)^[4]
• Best New Artist, Mateusz Award, Polskie Radio Program III award for Picking up the Pieces 2007^[14]
• Second Prize, 1998 International Jazz Vocalists' Competition, Zamość, PL

Nominations

• Woman of the Year 2008, Gazeta Wyborcza magazine (Wysokie Obcasy)
• Wdechy, 2007, Co Jest Grane (What's Going On) magazine's Warsaw cultural awards^[15]
• Best Polish Jazz Vocalist, Jazz Forum Readers' Poll, 2004 and 2005
• Best Jazz Album, My Lullaby, (as Agnieszka Skrzypek), Fryderyk, 2002^[16]

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

References

External links

• Official website