Veronica Swift, a star vocalist on the New York jazz scene and beyond, was attacked at a NYC subway station on the night of October 22. According to a friend, her assailant “came out of nowhere at the subway station and smashed a bottle over her head.”
Perhaps more disturbingly, “As she lay on the ground unconscious, 6 MTA construction workers and some civilians stood by filming on their phones” without offering immediate assistance. Attending physicians say that Ms. Swift did not suffer a concussion and that she is expected to make a full and rapid recovery.
Veronica Swift, the daughter of singer Stephanie Nakasian and the late pianist Hod O’Brien, is acknowledged to be one of the top young jazz vocalists working today. A precocious talent, Veronica’s first appearance at Jazz at Lincoln Center was at age 11 when she performed at the “Women in Jazz” series at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.
After graduating from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in December 2016, she moved to New York City. There she quickly landed a Saturday night residency at Birdland, a gig she continues to maintain when not on tour.
In addition to performing the Great American Songbook and Bebop and Vocalese classics, Veronica is also a passionate devotee of ’20s and ’30s music and has sung with Vince Giordano, Terry Waldo, and Drew Nugent.
She has also been featured in The Syncopated Times, most recently in a photo essay by John Herr in our August 2017 issue, and in an earlier profile: Veronica Swift in the Fast Lane.
A full and rapid recovery is expected. (Photo Facebook)
