| Jazz |
With Hey Love!, Lucy Yeghiazaryan once again confirms that she belongs among the most emotionally authentic interpreters of classic jazz singers.
The album radiates warmth, elegance, and sincerity from beginning to end, with a freshness that feels completely natural rather than nostalgic. More than simply revisiting standards, Yeghiazaryan inhabits them, bringing an intimacy and emotional clarity that make familiar songs sound newly alive. Her voice brings the record its centre of gravity.
What immediately enchants us on this opus is Lucy’s captivating and terribly seductive voice. She does not rely on vocal excess or theatricality. She sings with subtle phrasing, luminous tone, and an instinctive understanding of lyrical storytelling. Every song feels conversational, as though she were confiding directly to the listener rather than performing in front of a large audience. That sense of closeness gives the album its emotional power.
One of the undeniable highlights is her beautiful interpretation of Duke Ellington’s Tonight I Shall Sleep With A Smile On My Face. Yeghiazaryan approaches the song with remarkable tenderness and restraint, allowing the melody’s bittersweet elegance to unfold naturally. Rather than overdramatizing the lyric, she trusts its emotional simplicity, and the result is deeply moving. Her phrasing floats effortlessly over the arrangement, while the musicians create a soft, glowing atmosphere around her voice. It is precisely the kind of performance that reminds listeners why Ellington’s ballads remain timeless.
Witchcraft, a classic jazz standard composed in 1957 by Cy Coleman with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and recorded by Frank Sinatra, became a staple of the Great American Songbook and Lucy’s presence gives this song a dimension and luminosity comparable to that of the great Sinatra.
Another nugget is Love Is A Simple Thing (song by June Carroll & Arthur Siegel), a song that Lucy’s voice makes you vibrate with surprising emotional intensity. Lucy Yeghiazaryan never tries to dominate the songs. She delicately inhabits them, giving them an almost invisible interior depth.
The musicians throughout the album deserve enormous praise because Hey Love! succeeds as a true ensemble recording rather than merely a vocal showcase. Together, they create an environment of trust and elegance around Lucy. What makes this album so satisfying is the absence of ego within the ensemble.
There are many moments on Hey Love! that evoke the classic vocal jazz recordings of the ‘50s and ‘60s, but the album never feels trapped in imitation. Lucy Yeghiazaryan brings her own personality to the repertoire: sentimentality, tenderness, emotional honesty without exaggeration, and enormous respect for the covers she offers. And, in this sense, Duke Ellington’s Tonight I Shall Sleep With A Smile On My Face is a masterpiece.
Ultimately, Hey Love! is a deeply comforting and beautifully crafted jazz album, one that celebrates melody, intimacy, and the enduring emotional richness of great songs. Lucy Yeghiazaryan sings with grace, intelligence, and genuine feeling throughout, while the musicians surrounding her provide the perfect balance of support, subtlety, and elegance. And what makes this album so valuable is that nothing here seems designed to impress the listener. Every detail exists solely in service of the songs.
We then readily imagine a journey to the heart of a carefully preserved musical heritage, served with this hushed precision and grace which characterize Lucy’s work.
It is the kind of album that leaves the listener exactly as the Ellington’s song promises: with a smile on the face long after the final note has faded.
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, May 29th, 2026
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Musicians:
Lucy Yeghiazaryan, Vocals
Grant Stewart, Tenor Saxophone
Bruce Harris, Trumpet
Tardo Hammer, Piano
Peter Washington, Bass
Kenny Washington, Drums
Johnny O’Neal, Piano
Tracklist:
1 Next Spring (M. Jenkins) 3:03
2 Hey Love! / I Thought About You (Lucy Yeghiazaryan, J. Van Heusen) 4:25
3 Tonight I Shall Sleep With A Smile On My Face (D. Ellington) 4:45
4 Blow Top Blues (L. Feather) 3:49
5 Love Is A Simple Thing (A. Siegel) 2:32
6 Witchcraft (C. Coleman) 4:50
7 Lover Man (J. Davis) 3:23
8 Loads Of Love (R. Rodgers) 3:19
9 Come Dance With Me (J. Van Heusen) 3:25
10 Dedicated To You (S. Cahn) 4:17
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
