Biography
Elizabeth Tomboulian has been a pro all of her life. She cut her teeth in Texas bars singing Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Phoebe Snow, and Carol King along with her folk and R&B compositions while gigging on guitar.
Her repertoire took a turn toward jazz in Houston where she studied vocal jazz, jazz piano and jazz improv. She sang for a couple of years atop the Shell building in the Plaza Club with Kip Galbraith, who called her Betty Bop, a name she used professionally for a number of years. Some of her vocal heroes discovered at that time were: Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, and the group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
She found her way to Lucky Pierre's (piano bar) on Bourbon Street New Orleans, where she met Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, and played piano with The Charles Neville House Band and sang with New Orleans Ladies at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
On a lark, she moved to Boulder, Colorado, where she was a local opener at The Blue Note, sharing the stage with Tom Scott and the LA Express, Charlie Musselwhite, and Richie Cole. Tom Scott dug her opening act and took her with him to Fort Collinsto open his show there. She enjoyed beating him at his favorite dice game after the show. Richie Cole was so impressed by her vocal scat that for his encore, he sent the band offstage and finished the night with a duet with Betty singing and comping on guitar. Charlie Musselwhite wanted to take her on the road with him, but she was afraid to be trapped in a car with that much gin, so she held back. She's happy to see Charlie doing so well now. Way to go, Charlie!
She spent seven years in Nashville doing studio work and trying to get a record deal for her groups, The Lost Renes and Whatever It Takes.
She met Lee Tomboulian, her husband, in Arkansas on a Monday jazz gig at the AfterThought. Lee introduced her to the music of Eddie Harris, and the soloists of the cool jazz era as well as the music of South America (Brazil and Uruguay). This piqued her interest in studying the music of Milton Nascimento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hugo Fattoruso and Toninho Horta. When she met Milton after a show in Albuquerque, he asked what her name was so he could sign her program. When she said it was Betty, he smiled a quizzical smile and asked if she had another name. He didn't want to sign it to Betty, because in Portuguese, it's slang for bitch!
She is featured on two cds by Circo - North/South Convergence and newly released Return to Whenever. North/South Convergence is a collaboration with her husband and a six-piece group, produced by Hugo Fattoruso. See www.circomusic.com or www.sonicbids.com/circo or click the Audio link above and then Viver de Amor or Garota de Ipanema to hear Elizabeth sing with Circo. She and Lee had the time of their lives visiting Hugo in Montevideo, Uruguay and gigging at Medio y Medio in Punto del Este.
While in Arkansas, she met and sang with Sheila Jordan at a concert in Fayetteville. Sheila dug her sound and recognized her talent so much that she gave her some tunes from her book. When Elizabeth ran into Sheila at her 75th birthday party at the Jazz Standard in NYC, Sheila thought back and said, "Yes, I remember you! You were hanging with the piano player and I gave you my book! I don't give anybody my book! You wanna sing with me tomorrow night?"
She had to board a flight the next day for Denton, where she was working in desktop publishing at UNT. In Denton she sang with the University of North Texas Jazz Singers, the Denton Bach Choir and Circo. She studied classical voice and recorded Elijah by Felix Mendellsohn, Mass in B Minor by J.S. Bach with the Denton Bach Choir. She was a soloist on the 1999 Denton Bach Choir production of Messiah.
She's had an ecumenical career in church music ministry, as pianist/organist for a Unity Church, song leader for a contemporary Christian service at Trinity United Methodist Church, choir member at St. Andrew Church of God in Christ, musician and choir director at St. James AME in Denton, and pianist, soloist and song leader at Community Presbyterian Church.
She was featured on the Sammons Center for the Arts Jazz Series in Dallas. She studied with Bobby McFerrin and Voicestra at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, where she first studied with Rhiannon, sparking her interest in sound healing.
Subsequently, she studied improvisation and sound healing with Rhiannon in Madison after moving to Wisconsin and again on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Betty is a lover and a fan of many styles of music, and has an extensive repertoire of pop, jazz and standards from the United States, Musica de Popular Brasileira, and Uruguay. She is now builiding a repertoire of Italian songs, studying with Patrice Michaels at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music.
Instrumentation
ET's tune, "Hope, Strength and Love" has advanced to the next round of judging in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition. Finalists will be announced in February and the winners will be announced in March. Stay tuned for more. Click the Audio link to hear the song.
Elizabeth plays piano or keyboard and sings for solo gigs.
Lee Tomboulian, Instructor of Improvisation and Jazz Piano at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, accompanies ET on duo gigs, allowing her to freely soar vocally with the best accompaniment. A talented composer, you can hear ET's scat on his tunes and Brazilian vocals at www.sonicbids.com/circo.
John Croakin from Green Bay adds lovely saxes, flutes, and harmonica. His rich bass flute or flute sounds bring a classy smoothness to the group, or he can be just as brilliant on alto, tenor or soprano sax. Then he'll surprise you by playing jazz harmonica, shades of Toots Thielman! In Texas, Pete Brewer is the first-call man on saxes and flutes (hear him play on Viver de Amor with Circo).
ET works with Northeast Wisconsin rhythm section players: Mark Urness-bass, John Gibson-bass, Jason Kruk-drums, Dane Richeson-drums, Derek Drier-drums. In Texas: Drew Phelps or Brian Warthen-bass, Dennis Durick or Mike Drake-Drums. Book available for pick-up section to save on travel expenses for sidemen.
In Texas, Uruguayan percussionist, Ricardo Bozas (who plays with Circo and also on demo tracks with ET) brings atmospheric elegance and vitality to the sound, supporting with exotic instruments played with expertise.
Discography
Lee Tomboulian and Circo - Return to Whenever
Circo - North South Convergence
ET Singer - Texas Recordings
Elijah - Denton Bach Choir
Mass in B Minor - Denton Bach Choir
Bill Haymes - Out into the Light
Whatever it Takes - It's all Done with Mirrors
Links
| http://www.circomusic.faithweb.com/etsinger.htm |