Check Out Dea Lazzari’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dea Lazzari.

Hi Dea, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story did not begin with connections, recommendations, or an easy path into the music industry. I started taking singing lessons when I was just 12 years old, with no idea of where music would eventually take me. By the age of 19, I was already performing professionally, and my first real opportunity came from my own singing teacher, who invited me to sing with her gospel group, 5 Friends of Gospel. The group was heavily focused on vocal harmony and a cappella arrangements, and that experience taught me the discipline of listening, blending, harmonizing, and using the voice as an instrument. I then spent two years at a music academy, where I was selected by the faculty to be part of a particularly special and successful vocal ensemble. The teachers chose the three strongest female singers in the school to form a group dedicated entirely to a repertoire of Funk, Soul, and R&B. Being part of that ensemble gave me the opportunity to work intensively on vocal arrangements, interpretation, groove, harmony, and the stylistic nuances of the music I loved most.
At 27, I made another life-changing decision and entered the Conservatory to study Composition and New Technologies, essentially starting from zero in areas that would later become fundamental to my work. I remember learning what a DAW was, how recording actually worked, how microphones were used, and how music could be created and shaped through technology. I immersed myself in jazz harmony, pop composition, piano, and vocal performance, building my knowledge step by step until I earned my degree.
I then continued my education with a Master’s degree in Pop Singing at the prestigious Conservatorio di Musica di Milano, followed by a post-master’s degree in Artistic Vocology, which I completed in December 2023. Today, I am also a member of GIVA – Italian Group of Artistic Vocologists.
As an expert in Vocology, I have developed specific experience working with professional voices in collaboration with physicians, speech-language pathologists, fellow voice teachers, and music therapists. I work with artists both in the classroom and in the recording studio, helping them prepare for concerts, competitions, auditions, and conservatory admissions. Teaching allows me to put my experience as a performer, musician, songwriter, and vocal specialist at the service of other artists and their development. In many ways, teaching makes me feel just as fulfilled as being on stage.

Looking back, what makes me proudest is that I built this path step by step. I started taking singing lessons as a child, entered the professional world young and taught myself an entirely new language of music technology and production. I made sacrifices and kept moving forward without shortcuts or a predetermined path. Every stage gave me another piece of the artist and educator I am today.

And then came another leap into the unknown: Los Angeles.
After years of learning, performing, teaching, and creating in Italy, I moved to LA and arrived with everything I had built along the way—my voice, my music, my education, my experience as an educator, and the determination to start a new chapter in one of the world’s most competitive music communities.

Since arriving in Los Angeles, I have been fortunate to connect and work with musicians who have inspired me tremendously. I am currently collaborating with the highly accomplished producer, composer, and keyboardist Wayne Vaughn, whose distinguished career includes work with The Brothers Johnson and Earth, Wind & Fire, and who is producing a series of new original songs for my upcoming musical projects. The collaboration brings together my songwriting, vocal performance, and artistic direction with Wayne’s extensive experience as a musician, producer, and arranger in funk, soul, R&B, and contemporary music.

One of the most meaningful experiences of my career also happened at the 2024 NAMM Show, where I had the opportunity to sing alongside Stevie Wonder. Experiences like these have been incredibly meaningful to me—not simply because of the names involved, but because each one has challenged me to grow, learn, and keep raising my own artistic standards.

Another important experience was the opportunity to perform with Bluey Maunick, frontman of the internationally acclaimed British jazz-funk group Incognito, in June 2025. We performed an original song as part of *Musica Senza Confini* (“Music Without Borders”), an inclusive Italian music initiative created by musician and educator Manuele Maestri. The project combines music with innovative assistive technologies developed in collaboration with Audio Modeling, an Italian company specializing in advanced virtual instruments and music technology, making musical participation accessible to people with different physical, cognitive, motor, or visual disabilities.

My music has always moved across different genres, including Soul, R&B, Jazz, Pop, Funk, Brazilian music, Chillout, and other contemporary influences. I don’t see these styles as separate identities, but as different colors that come together within my artistic voice. I enjoy exploring different sounds while maintaining a strong sense of who I am as an artist, and I think this versatility has become an important part of my musical identity.

One song that particularly represents this journey is “The Wayne Song.” I originally wrote it during the pandemic and later completed it in Los Angeles as a tribute to Wayne Vaughn. Although it was not created as part of our current production collaboration, the song has a special place in my story because it reflects the way I transform experiences, relationships, gratitude, and emotions into music. In many ways, it also represents my own journey: an idea born during a period of uncertainty that eventually became a finished piece in a completely new phase of my career.

Today, I am still very much in the process of building. I don’t see my move to Los Angeles as the end of a journey, but as a new beginning. I am continuing to write, record, perform, collaborate, and develop new projects while creating my place within the LA music community.

What makes my story meaningful to me is the decision to leave the familiarity of Italy and start again in Los Angeles with a clear vision for the kind of artist I want to become. I am building a bridge between two worlds—my Italian roots and the musical energy of Los Angeles—and I believe that this is one of the things that makes my journey unique. I didn’t move to LA to become someone else. I came here to bring everything I had already built, continue learning, and discover what I can create next.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges was actually getting my visa to move to the United States. The process took a long time, and for about a year and a half I felt like my life was on standby. I spent a long time waiting, planning, and preparing for the moment when I could finally begin this new chapter, without knowing exactly when the opportunity to leave would come. Then, in June 2025, everything fell into place, and I moved to Los Angeles.
Leaving everything behind is never easy, especially when you don’t know exactly what you are going to find on the other side. I was leaving my home, my routines, my professional life, and everything familiar to me to start again in a completely new environment. But surprisingly, I wasn’t afraid. It was probably the biggest step I have ever taken in my life, and somehow I felt that it was the right one.
The reality of starting over was not always easy. Even something as basic as finding a place to live in Los Angeles was challenging, and I was very fortunate to have the support of true friends here who helped me during those first months. Having people I could count on made a huge difference.
I also didn’t make this journey completely alone. My partner Emanuele is here with me, and he is on this adventure too. We are both building a new life from the ground up, supporting each other and discovering what this new chapter has in store for us.
So no, the road has not been smooth. There have been moments of uncertainty, waiting, and challenges that I could not have predicted. But I think that is also what makes the journey meaningful. I left without knowing exactly what I would find, but I never let fear stop me. I believed strongly enough in what I wanted to build that I was willing to take the risk—and I would make the same choice again.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is built around my identity as an independent singer-songwriter, performer, recording artist, and vocal educator, under my stage name, Dea Lazzari.

As an artist, I write and perform original music that brings together different influences throughout my life: Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk, Pop, Chillout, and contemporary sounds.

I specialize in live performance as a lead vocalist as well as in vocal arranging. Vocal harmonies and backing vocals are an important and distinctive part of my artistic work. My songs often include carefully structured vocal arrangements, with harmonized parts that I write and shape according to the musical language of each project, from Soul and R&B to Jazz, Funk, and Brazilian music. I am particularly attentive to precision, vocal blend, intonation, clarity, and the overall sound of the vocal arrangement. I also write the individual vocal parts and, when working with backing vocalists, I direct and supervise the vocal sections during recording sessions to achieve the intended sound and musical interpretation. This combination of lead performance, vocal arranging, and technical knowledge of the voice is an important part of my professional identity.

Alongside my work as a performing and recording artist, I have developed a specific expertise in Artistic Vocology and vocal education. My academic training in Artistic Vocology, combined with years of professional experience as a singer and vocal educator, allows me to work with the voice from both an artistic and technical perspective. I work with singers, professional performers, and actors who rely on their voices professionally, helping them develop and refine their vocal technique, coordination, breath and body awareness, vocal efficiency, and artistic expression.

I see my work as the development of a complete artistic identity rather than simply a single professional role. I am continuing to build a body of work that brings together performing, songwriting, recording, vocal arranging, and vocal education, while developing new collaborations and projects in Los Angeles.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I believe the quality that has been most important to my success is authenticity. I have always felt that the most important thing for me as an artist is to remain true to who I am, both musically and personally, and not be afraid to let people see and hear that honestly.

This is something I hear repeatedly from people who follow my work and from audiences after my performances. They often tell me that what they connect with is the authenticity they hear in my voice. People who know my work well sometimes say they can recognize me immediately when they hear me sing — as if my personality, my vibe, and my groove are already present in the sound. To me, this speaks to something important about the voice: beyond technique, every voice carries a personal identity. As singers, we should learn to recognize, develop, and protect that identity rather than trying to fit our voices into someone else’s idea of what they should sound like.

At the same time, authenticity does not mean staying in one place creatively. I allow myself to explore different genres, sounds, arrangements, and forms of expression while maintaining a recognizable artistic identity. Whether I am performing Soul, R&B, Jazz, Funk, Brazilian music, or one of my original songs, I want the music to feel unmistakably mine.

Ultimately, I believe that the key to the connection between an artist and their audience is for the audience to feel understood.. When listeners recognize something of themselves in what an artist says, sings, or communicates, the music becomes personal. And beyond the words themselves, there is the feeling that remains on the skin after listening — something that cannot always be explained, but can be deeply felt.

That is what makes music such a powerful form of expression. It reaches us through our emotions, our memories, our bodies, and our senses, creating an experience that can stay with us long after the song has ended. Music also opens a space for spirituality, connecting us not only to ourselves, but to one another. It can break through barriers, bring people together, and remind us of what we share as human beings. I believe we have a responsibility to respect that power and use it to create connection, understanding, and something positive in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dealazzari.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dealazzari/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EricaDeLazzari11
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-de-lazzari-536534352/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dealazzari
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/miss-erica

Image Credits
Art Works by Fab Merrett for Creative Players
Photographers Stefania Giudici, Stefano Iuso, Emanuele Parravicini