By Bart Greenberg****The lovely West Coast-based jazz vocalist Eve Marie Shahoian will be returning to New York City on July 7th to make her Birdland Theater debut. Following a highly successful engagement at Feinstein’s/54Below, Shahoian delivers a new show, Broadway and Beyond, in which she explores her journey from an opera singing child prodigy to an award-winning jazz vocalist and singer songwriter. The song list for this evening will be a mix of melodies from Broadway, Hollywood, jazz standards (Eva Cassidy is a big inspiration for her in this area) and some original songs from her EP Believe and some newer songs. Joining the vocalist on stage with be the exciting New York cabaret star Eugene Ebner and music director Jon Weber, as well as drummer Daniel Glass and bassist Saadi Zain.
Shahoian began her career when a talent agent attended a church service where she sang when she was 8. Her natural mature voice and her wide vocal range marked her as someone very special. And it was absolutely what she wanted; this was not a case of ambitious parents pushing her into a career. When she was in elementary school, her dream was to be on the Donny & Marie television show. Ironically, the Osmonds are two musical performers she has yet to meet; she certainly met many others, between touring with Liberace and John Davidson (who remains a friend) and appearing on all the popular talk shows, such as “Merv Griffin” and “Mike Douglas,” where she sang classical and popular songs. Despite mixing with such heady company, she never became starstruck because she grew up with stars and learned how fleeting celebrity is.
By the time she reached college, Shahoian decided she wanted a normal life and pursued training to become a voice teacher and coach. This new career was rewarding, but when she became a mother in her late twenties, the desire to create was relit in her; she began to write songs as a way to keep one foot in show business, as well as a way to express herself as an individual. She asserts that children make you want to be the best version of yourself. The song “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress (which will be included in her new show) struck a deep nerve with her; its theme of fighting to remain who we are even as we walk through life and can so easily loose that knowledge is of most importance.
Why is Shahoian returning to New York City? Because “I’m going to be at Birdland. Because I continue to dream. And I need to be heard.” She is excited to work with Weber because of his dazzling versatility as a musician. As to Ebner, who will be duetting with Shahoian on a medley of tunes from mixed sources, she finds him “magical” and praises his beautiful voice. The diva remains grateful to anyone who has influenced her or gotten her to this place, especially her mother Kitti. She is thrilled to be able to offer her voice once more.
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