Yanick Etienne is no stranger to the music scene. The attractive vocalist started singing professionally since 1979. Her singing style combines jazz, soul and Caribbean flavors to make a completely unique sound: her own.
Yanick was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and came to the U.S. with her family in 1970. She’s from a very artistic family. Two of her brothers are musicians and her younger sister is a dancer. She says that she gets her vocal abilities from her mother, who loved to sing as a young girl and was often complimented on her beautiful voice. She’s paid her dues and acquired her experience as a vocalist by doing studio sessions. She’s recorded with a wide-range of artists worldwide. Some of her earlier credits include songs such as “TOI” recorded with Haitian singer, Jose Tavernier, “CARIBBEAN GIRLS” with Austin Tuitt from Trinidad, “MIRAGE” with Yvon Andre (Kapi) of Tabou Combo. She’s done back-up vocals on singer Ti Manno’s very last album, lead and back-up vocals on ELITE.
ORCHESTRA, and DIFE/ELECTRIC COMPA (albums) in addition to vocal performances on several other musical projects. In 1990, she recorded background vocal tracks for the Italian Rock & Roll group Rocking Chairs, on their album, “NO SAD GOODBYES”. Her performance on (one of the UK’s best known Rock group), ROXY MUSIC’s album put Yanick’s name on the international charts with “AVALON”, Bryan Ferry’s 1982 hit single. Since that time, she’s recorded more albums with Ferry including: BOYS AND GIRLS, BETE NOIRE, MAMOUNA and 39 STEPS. In the summer of 1988, Yanick joined Ferry on his world tour, which included concert stops in the U.S., Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Yanick’s performances were singled-out for rave reviews by the world’s most prominent newspapers and magazines such as: The New York Post, Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and Japan Times. Her various renditions of “AVALON” on the 1988-89 World Tour were described as “spine-tingling”, “riveting” “soulful”, “angelic”, “pure poetry”, “gospel-like”, “silky”, and so on. In March 1989 after her return from the tour, she commenced preparations on her debut album. “I believe that all the studio work that I’ve done in the past have helped to prepare me for DERNST EMILE PRESENTS: YANICK ETIENNE”. Indeed, we can hear from her performance, the maturity that she has developed as a vocalist. She wrote many of the songs on the album which features her signature hit song “MISTE DAMOU”, and co-wrote the others with her Husband/Producer DERNST EMILE. Dernst Emile II (Dee), who was 4 years old at the time, superbly co-produced. Yanick feels very strongly about her work being the best that it can be. “I can’t stand sloppiness in music”, she says vehemently. In fact, some of her favorite artists are among the best in the recording industry. Sarah Vaughan, Jon Lucien, Stevie Wonder, Nancy Wilson, Stephanie Mills, Al Jarreau, Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross are some of the people who’ve influenced her style of singing.
Since the release of her first album, she’s made various TV and Radio appearances at HTN in Miami, FL, Metro Magazine TV, Momemt Creole on WLIB radio in New York, in addition to being featured in countless newspaper and magazine articles. In July 1992, Yanick joined the World Music radio program New York International as an on-air D.J. After an interview with the program director, Al Angeloro, he was so taken with her talent and her personality that he asked her to join the team. In March 1993 she was nominated Best New Artist at the Third Annual Carribbean Music Awards. Her category was presented by none other than Jon Lucien! In June 1993, she guest-starred in Jazz Night at Café Arielle-Theatre Row, along with Dernst Emile and their son, Dernst Emile II (Dee). In August 1993, she headlined In Concert at Medgar Evers College. Yanick’s first promotional concert of her first album was a tremendous success.
November 23, 1994, six years after The World Tour, she took the stage with Bryan Ferry once again at The Beacon Theater in New York, as a “Special Guest” for a performance of “AVALON”. On May 26, 1995, Yanick was elated when she performed in The General Assembly Hall, at the United Nations’ 50th Anniversary Celebration. On July 29, 1995, she went home to Haïti to perform for the first time at the International Roots Festival (Bouyon Rasin).
Once more, Yanick reunited with Ferry, this time for the ROXY MUSIC REUNION TOUR in the summer of 2001. The concert stops in the U.S. included 2 nights at Madison Square Garden, in New York, performances in Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, also in Vancouver, British Columbia and in Europe: Manchester, Glasgow and London in the UK.
Her brand new, just released cd, “LOVE SONGS FOR YOU” recently hit the U.S. market in September 2004 and is already receiving well-deserved acclaims and accolades from the Floridian media. Recorded, mixed, arranged and produced by her now 19 year old son (Dee), Yanick has come full circle. Her tribute to poetess extraordinaire, Maya Angelou, on “MAYA” and her rendition of Minnie Riperton’s “LOVIN YOU” sung in Creole are just spectacular! You will savor a mix of songs in her native Creole and English which bring together magnificently the two cultures. Her diversity in styles include succulent Caribbean and Brazilian flavors, R&B, Christian/Gospel, a touch of Hip Hop, all of which aptly describe this body of work.
