Virginie Teychené
was born in Draguignan, France (Var). At 20, while studying law and literature, she started singing professionnaly. Fond of Jazz music and a interested in singers, she listened to everything she could find within reach : female voices (Maria Callas, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, etc.), but also male singers (Chet Baker, Joao Gilberto, Eddie Jefferson), enabled her to acquire a self-taught yet sound vocal technique and a large and deep knowledge of African American vocal art.

In 2003, she decided to devote herself entirely to her passion for jazz. She then joined the “Workshop Experience” (W.E), which enabled her to meet a large number of jazz musicians. Through many projects and nourished with numerous influences (Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley…), she developed a personal way of introducing themes and improvising, as an instrumentalist, and she followed the traditional course of any Jazz musician: concerts, clubs, jam sessions… During the Jazz Festival of La Seyne sur mer, she drew attention of critics: “a joyful style, combining genuine emotion and dynamic improvisation; a deceptively simple vocal art bringing back to the essence of music; a perfect balance between relaxed sophistication and innate sense of swing.”

Her first album, “Portraits” (Altrisuoni), recorded with musicians from the “Workshop Experience”, was issued at the end of 2007. It is acclaimed by the critics, in France, Europe and the U.S : “One never expects to find such perfection in an artist unknown until then”. (Renaud Czarnes, JazzMan); “The charm starts from the very first notes” (Yann Mens, La Croix); “Our favourite!” (Radio Swiss Jazz); “A pure, low voice” (Newsweek). In the Summer 2008, she performed on prestigious Jazz Festivals; during the International Vocal Jazz Competition in Juan les Pins, she wins the” Prix du Jury” and the “Prix du Public” (they had never been won by the same artist before); her concert for the “Radio France /Montpellier Jazz Festival” was broadcasted on France Musique. Xavier Prévost, a very famous and respected Jazz critic said about her “In her first album, this young jazz singer shows a remarkable maturity, mastering the idiom of jazz with a very deep expressivity. In these times of mawkishness, her genuineness warmth the heart, the souls and the spirit”.

Her second album, “I feel so good” (Altrisuoni), will be issued in may 2010. Two famous French Jazz musicians, Jean-Pierre Arnaud (drums) and François Chassagnite (trumpet) have joined the initial team : Gérard Maurin (arrangements, bass) and Stéphane Bernard (piano). The 14-track song list shows that Virginie Teychené belongs to the tradition of those who have made the history of Jazz; that she is not only a singer, but also a real interpreter of songs, a musician, a scat perfomer, a genuine Jazzwoman. For her abilities are wide: American Jazz standards, Vocaleses, Brazilian or French standards, original compositions… “ No doubt about it, a star is born, whom to be reckoned with”.