AGA ZARYAN ( Agnieszka Skrzypek )graduated with honors from the Fryderyk Chopin Public School of Music on Bednarska St. in Warsaw, where she also completed the post-graduate Jazz Studies program under the tutelage of legendary Polish jazz vocalist Ewa Bem.
In 1998 she was awarded First Prize at the International Jazz Vocalists' Competition in Zamosc. As a two-time recipient of international study grants, Aga travelled to the United States to participate in the Stanford Jazz Workshop and Jazz Camp West programs, which gave her the opportunity to hone her talents under the direction of world-renowned vocalists like Rebecca Paris and Madeline Eastman, among others. In 1997 she performed at the Warsaw Fall Festival of Modern Music with an orchestra conducted by Jacek Kasprzyk, and appeared with a string quartet at the "Passage" Panorama of 20th Century Music festival the following year. In 2000, she returned to the United States, performing a jazz repertoire with pianist Michal Tokaj.
March 2002 saw the release of Aga's debut recording "My Lullaby", on which was accompanied by Tomasz Szukalski, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Michal Tokaj and Lukasz Zyta. The CD received excellent reviews in Poland, as well as in Japan, where it is officially distributed. "My Lullaby" was also nominated for the Polish Phonographic Academy's "Fryderyk" award.
Since that time, Aga has appeared at a large number of clubs and festivals in Poland, the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, the USA, Isreal, the Czech Republic and Russia. In Jazz Forum Magazine's annual Jazz Top Readers' Poll she was recognized as one of Poland's leading jazz vocalists in 2004 and 2005. In 2004 she became a licentiate of the Department of Musical Therapy at the Academy of Music in Lódz, where her work focused on the incorporation of certain elements of jazz music into the process of musical therapy and teaching music to children and youths. In 2006, she received an award at the "Jazz Struggle" International Jazz Vocalists' Competition. Currently, Aga is promoting PICKING UP THE PIECES with Michal Tokaj Trio ( Michal Baranski - bass and Lukasz Zyta - drums ). THE CD IS PLATINUM !!!!
The band is playing in Poland and around the world.
Aga's new cd will be in stores on 1- st August 2007 . Michal Tokaj composed and arranged the music and Aga chose and sang polish poetry from the second world war period. More details about the album UMIERA PIEKNO very soon !!!!
"Picking Up The Pieces" is an album that's on a par with Diana Krall's "Love Scenes", yet it was recorded by Polish vocalist Aga Zaryan. It contains catchy jazz ballads, sung with a warm and gentle voice.
Aga Zaryan, earlier known as Agnieszka Skrzypek, showed that she has a feel for ballads as far back as four years ago, with the release of her debut record "My Lullaby".
Reviewers at the time lauded her as a revelation on the Polish jazz vocal scene. Today she is a fully mature artist of distinctive style and class, in the tradition of the finest ballad performers.
The idea to record the album in Los Angeles proved to be an excellent one. Topnotch bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz - a long-time resident of LA who performs and records regularly with some of the finest musicians in jazz - was chosen to be the album's producer and main instrumentalist. Oleszkiewicz invited several seasoned jazzmen to participate in the project, including Larry Koonse on guitar, Nolan Shaheed on cornet, and Darryl Munyoango Jackson on percussion. Most of the songs were recorded as duets, or trios with bass and guitar, while the other instruments are used sparingly.
This album has an exceptionally intimate feel, and presents a range of standards - those known from numerous previous interpretations, like "The Man I Love" and "Sophisticated Lady" (the latter recorded as a duet with guitar), as well as newer ones: Abby Lincoln's "Throw It Away", Shirley Horn's "Here's To Life", and Leonard Cohen's classic "Suzanne". Aga Zaryan sings each song as if she were telling a story about something she experienced herself. She is credible, suggestive, and gifted with the ability to create an atmosphere so intimate that we feel as if she were singing just for us. "Picking Up The Pieces" is an album of captivating warmth, and one we'll surely reach for often.
Marek Dusza, RZECZPOSPOLITA, November 2006
Reactivation of the hope of Polish jazz singing. Four years ago, she released the highly acclaimed album "My Lullaby". Now she's back with a set of standards, recorded with a first-rate international line-up of musicians. It's not the exquisite trumpet of Nolan Shaheed or Larry Koonse's guitar work that will most attract listeners, though - not even the playing of master jazz bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz; the primary appeal lies in the voice of the album's lead performer. I'm happy to see Agnieszka being promoted as "the Polish Diana Krall", despite the fact that they differ significantly, because the name "Krall" is sure to generate interest on a wider scale among Polish listeners than the name of Dianne Reeves, who the Polish vocalist's fluid phrasing is a bit more reminiscent of. Something that can't be ignored when it comes to standards - her singing in English is by far the best of that of any of our female vocalists. If she intends to vie for international success, however, then it's time for something a bit less conservative. The best would be her own, original repertoire. - PRZEKRÓJ, November 2006
This album should open the path to a great career for a singer that until now has been a niche artist. On the Polish jazz vocals scene, Aga is already a star. - Jaroslaw Peczak, POLITYKA (December 2006)
There’s promise, as it turns out – promise on the Polish jazz vocal scene. Previously known as Agnieszka Skrzypek, she now goes by a name that has a more international flavor to it, and rightly so – the young vocalist recorded her latest album in Los Angeles, with several master American jazzmen participating in the sessions. After the opening cut, “Day Dream†– a vocal-bass duet with the perennially excellent Darek Oleszkiewicz – we know a lot already; Aga swings, achieves interesting timbral effects the lower register of her vocal range, and – something new and welcome on the Polish scene – sounds great singing in English. But we don’t know everything yet, because the more of this mood-evoking album we listen to, the better it gets. With each track, we seem to feel the artist “warming up†and successively eliciting more and more from the musicians accompanying her - almost as if we were in a club, at a live performance. Arrangements for voice, bass and guitar predominate (Larry Koonse’s work here is superb), with Nolan Shaheed (a veteran of the Count Basie Orchestra, among others) contributing some spirited cornet solos as well. The repertoire was chosen intelligently too – from standards played with a bossa nova lilt (“Here’s To Lifeâ€), to a ballad by poet/songwriter Leonard Cohen (“Suzanneâ€). - Daniel Wyszogrodzki ZWIERCIADLO (January 2007)
