Aga Zaryan (born Agnieszka Skrzypek on 17 January 1976) is a Polish

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

vocalist and the first Polish musician to sign with

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

. Her albums have earned gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status. In 2008 and 2012 she was honored with the

Fryderyk The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the US Grammy and British BRIT Awar ...

award, the Polish recording industry's most prestigious prize. She was nominated for Woman of the Year in 2008 by ''

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

'', one of Poland's most widely circulated newspapers. From 2007 to 2018, she was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year in the annual readers' poll at ''

Jazz Forum ''Jazz Forum'' is a European jazz magazine based in Warsaw. It was established as a quarterly in 1964 by jazz bassist Jan A. Byrczek, who served as its editor-in-chief. It was the first jazz magazine published behind the Iron Curtain and allowed ...

'' magazine.

Early life

Zaryan was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, 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 Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

, and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. 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 Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, she decided to become a jazz vocalist. She studied voice at

Fryderyk Chopin University of Music The Chopin University of Music (, UMFC) is a musical conservatorium and academy located in central Warsaw, Poland. It is the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.Stanford Jazz Workshop Stanford Jazz Workshop (SJW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to jazz education and the annual concert series known as the Stanford Jazz Festival. SJW was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel. Though many of its activities a ...

and Jazz Camp West, both in the United States.

Career

In 2006, she performed at the JVC Jazz Festival in Warsaw, opening for

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ens ...

. Since that time, she has appeared in clubs and at festivals in Poland, England, the United States, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, Sweden,

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, 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 Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette Str ...

in New York City and Blues Alley in Washington D.C. The concerts were enthusiastically received. Zaryan recorded ''Picking Up the Pieces'' (2006) in Los Angeles with

Larry Koonse Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone, ...

(guitar), Munyungo Jackson (percussion),

Nolan Shaheed Nolan Shaheed (born Nolan Andrew Smith, Jr.; July 18, 1949 in Pasadena, California) is an American jazz musician, specializing in the cornet and trumpet, and a world record holding masters athlete. Masters athletics Shaheed has been in the mas ...

(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 The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

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 public

Polish TV Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network. After 2015, when the right-wing populist Law and Justic ...

and

Polish Radio The Polish Radio (PR; Polish: ''Polskie Radio'', PR) is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and Nationa ...

. In 2008, she was given the

Award, the Polish recording industry's highest honor.

Awards and nominations

Awards

*Best Polish Female Jazz Vocalist, ''

'' Readers' Poll, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 *Best Poetic Album,

Award for ''Księga Olśnień'', 2011 *Best Poetic Album, Fryderyk Award for ''Beauty is Dying'', 2008 * 50 Most Important Ladies of the Capital 2008,

Życie Warszawy ''Życie Warszawy'' (, ) was a Polish language newspaper published in Warsaw. Despite its name it was a national pro-establishment newspaper, but since 1990 it was an independent publication increasingly focused on local Varsovian issues. Histo ...

(Warsaw press) * Best New Artist,

Mateusz Mateusz is a Polish given name, equivalent to Hebrew names Matityahu and Matthew, meaning "gift of Yahweh". List Notable people with the name include: B–H * Mateusz Bąk (born 1983), Polish football goalkeeper *Mateusz Banasiuk (born 1985), Po ...

Award,

Polskie Radio Program III Polskie Radio Program III (Polish Radio Three), known also as Radiowa Trójka or shortly Trójka is a radio channel broadcast by the Polish public broadcaster, Polskie Radio. It is a music station playing a wide variety of music from rock, alt ...

award for ''Picking up the Pieces'' 2007 *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 * Best Polish Jazz Vocalist, ''

'' Readers' Poll, 2004 and 2005 * Best Jazz Album, ''My Lullaby'', (as Agnieszka Skrzypek), Fryderyk, 2002

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaryan, Aga 1976 births Living people Polish jazz singers Polish women jazz singers English-language singers from Poland 21st-century Polish singers 21st-century Polish women singers