Having roots firmly planted in doo-wop and classic rock during the 60s, both in high school and performing while overseas in the Marine Corps, Izzy Chait began his musical career singing in LA clubs in the late 60s and early 70s, performing songs from his favorite musical genre: "standards."
Finding the hours and lifestyle of a club singer to be incompatible with getting an education (he graduated cum laude with a B.A. from UCLA in anthropology), Izzy temporarily gave up his burgeoning musical career, but he never stopped listening to his favorites: classic jazz "standards," early blues from the Mississippi Delta and most importantly, voices that communicated about life and living; joys and sorrows; love found and lost.
After having created a very successful career in the field of Asian art, in the early 90s, Izzy decided to dust off his treasured microphone and reconnect with the songs that stirred the soul of his youth. As time passed, Izzy began singing and recording with, and for, a wide range of blues and pop musicians - further honing his warm, intimate phrasing and stylistic versatility.
However, the irreplaceable rapture of performing "standards" continued to tug at Izzy's heart and in the last few years Izzy has been perfecting a new form of musical expression - an alchemy of jazz, blues, and "standards" - all re-worked with new arrangements and rarely attempted, breathtaking instrumentation. The result of this experimentation finally led Izzy into the studio to record what would eventually become his magnum opus, "Once Upon A Time."
Taking inspiration from some of the 20th Century's finest popular singers, Izzy borrows the vocal structure of Billy Eckstein and Johnny Hartman; adds the lightness and phrasing of Joe Williams, Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra; then stirs in a little of Ray Charles and Willie Dixon, while adding a dash of Joe Cocker just for fun - all flavored with Izzy's distinctive burnish. And in his inimitable style, Izzy also respectfully doffs his musical fedora to such classic female singers as Etta James, Diane Reeves, Shirley Horn, Diana Krall and many more.
As if floating on a sea of musical tranquility, "Once Upon A Time" carries the listener on an engaging, effortless vocal odyssey, filtered through a blend of traditional jazz and blues stylings - yet all the while taking the familiar and instantly making it unique. Joined by well-known friends (famous in both jazz and blues circles), "Once Upon A Time" is truly a delight for young and old. And with his writing partner Howard McCrary, Izzy also continues to lovingly craft new "standards" to add to his one-of-a-kind portfolio of wonderful, timeless music.
In the final analysis, "Once Upon A Time" is nothing less than one man's beautiful, heart-felt ode to a century of popular song - a joyful celebration of all that is noble and pure in humankind and an open-armed embrace of this rollicking adventure we call "life."
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