Photo by Helane Blumfield
"Performers who sing as well as they play the piano always have been in short supply, notwithstanding glorious exceptions such as Nat King Cole and Bobby Short. Judging by his performance on this occasion, Eric Yves Garcia stands as a contender, his robust baritone and all-over-the-keys pianism striking to behold simultaneously. When he sang Cole Porter's "I'm a Gigolo," it was easy to get lost in the warmth of his voice; when he played piano in a Manhattan-inspired medley, he seemed to have more fingers than the usual allotment."
- Howard Reich, The Chicago Tribune
“Eric Yves Garcia follows in these august footsteps—a smooth crooner with a lyrical touch on the eighty eights. He’s an accomplished performer with an acute sense of history and an appreciation of style, and what’s more, he’s a bona fide writer. Garcia’s shows are a well-considered musical tour from which one emerges both highly entertained and enriched.”
-Marilyn Lester, Cabaret Scenes Magazine
“...The heart of an aspiring concert entertainer.”
“A paragon of old-style elegance, and social grace, Mr. Garcia offers an indefectible image of the Manhattan lounge entertainer, with his skilled playing of the piano and dreamy vocals filling the night air…”
“A talented singer-pianist who sometimes brings a moody edge to his Great American Songbook selections... ”
"Captivating is an oft overused word but it describes Garcia perfectly. From an astounding musicianship and controlled velvet voice, to his well-honed comic presence, the man is a delight. If a performance could transport the audience to another era, one of forgotten romance, that still manages to sound as fresh as it did sixty years ago, then this is it."
- Jonathan Baz Reviews, UK, ****
The New York Times | Dec. 3, 2013 | By Stephen Holden
Eric Yves Garcia Plays Classics at Laurie Beechman Theater
Eric Yves Garcia, a Manhattan piano bar entertainer who toiled in semi-oblivion at Chez Josephine until his recent appearances at the New York Cabaret Convention, belongs to the school of jazz-leaning connoisseurs of the American Songbook epitomized by the irreplaceable Bobby Short. If Mr. Garcia’s sprightly appearance at the Laurie Beechman Theater on Monday evening says anything about the frustrations of turning out semi-anonymous background music in a restaurant, it might be that inside many a piano bar musician beats the heart of an aspiring concert entertainer, waiting for his moment… (more)
March 7, 2014 | Bistro Awards | Mark Dundas Wood
Vocalist and pianist Eric Yves Garcia is in jazz mode in his current gig at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, and it suits him. Backed by two talented and playful musicians—guitarist Nick Russo and bassist Ritt Henn—he sings some of the most familiar titles from the Great American Songbook with an obvious enthusiasm for musical improvisation. Watching him close-up between numbers, I got the sense that he chooses the song order and tempos and keys with the same “let’s see what feels right here” spirit that he uses when he’s actually jamming. (more)
The Wall St. Journal | Dec. 5, 2013 | By Will Friedwald
Eric Yves Garcia at Chez Josephine
Pianist and singer Eric Yves Garcia has an upper-register highly reminiscent of Bobby Short, a trio of guitar (Tony Romano) and bass (Ritt Henn) directly inspired by that of Nat King Cole and a commendable predilection for some of the less frequently heard selections from the Sinatra canon. Most importantly, he puts everything together in a highly personal, intensely intimate fashion that allows the songs to come to us through him in a way that's by turns incredibly moving and very funny—often both at the same time. The great songs, Mr. Garcia says, "may bend, but they don't break," and he proves it, time after time.