Like Beyoncé, Bjork and Bono, he goes professionally by just one name: Pascalito. It sounds Italian, but he is French, originally from Paris, where he was born Pascal Sabattier. A dozen years ago, while still in his late twenties, he relocated to New York. Raised by musical parents on a varied diet that extended from Henri Salvador and les deux Charles, Trenet and Aznavour, to Chet Baker and Tony Bennett, he is a bandleader, songwriter and vocalist, or as he bilingually bills himself, a “world chanteur.”
Many a Manhattan-based jazz singer can provide detailed analysis of the risks inherent to their chosen path. Perhaps, though, Pascalito is the only one who can do so systematically. Like so many of his vocal confreres, he must support his artistry with a day job. He is a risk analyst for a major investment bank (which, given Wall Street’s recent travails, may actually be a more perilous profession than jazz singer).
