Avo Uvezian
| Avo Uvezian | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
March 22, 1926 Beirut, French Lebanon |
| Died | March 24, 2017 (aged 91) Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instruments | Piano |
Avo Uvezian (March 22, 1926 in Beirut, French Lebanon – March 24, 2017) was an Armenian-American jazz pianist and cigar manufacturer.
Avo Uvezian was born to a family of musicians. His mother was a singer, while his father was a composer and conductor for a symphony orchestra. His parents’ experience with music allowed him to develop his talents as a young man and Uvezian joined a jazz trio called the Lebanon Boys. They received a contract to perform at a hotel in Baghdad where they stayed for one year. After this, they signed a contract to perform at a hotel in Iran. While there, Avo received an invitation from Shah Reza Pahlavi to perform at his palace. In an interview with Cigar Aficionado, Avo described this point in his career.
"I spoke Farsi (referring to Persian), so it sort of broke the ice with the Shah," he says. "I remember they were trying to dance the jitterbug and I said, 'You don't know how to dance that right. Let me show you.' We were invited back for two or three more events and finally, I became the Shah's pianist. The hotel didn't care since the Shah owned it."
After a year of performing in Iran, the Shah arranged for Avo to travel to the United States of America in 1947. While living in New York, Avo played for multiple bands while studying classical piano and composition at the Juilliard School.
Avo met his wife, Marie Sahakian, while performing at a New York resort in the Catskill Mountains in 1951. They had three children: Jeffrey, Robert, and Ronny.
Uvezian was drafted during the Korean War and sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey where he was put through infantry training. After impressing his officers with his musical talents, Uvezian was taken out of the Infantry and put into band training. When he arrived in Korea, the band would play at an Officers Club where they got paid twenty dollars a night. Uvezian was honorably discharged in 1952.
After being discharged, Uvezian spent the next few years working with his father-in-law designing jewelry. This eventually brought him to Puerto Rico where he was paid to perform at the Palmas Del Mar resort.
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