Avo Uvezian passed away at 91

We all know AVO cigars, that indisputably represent an important part of the Dominican production. On the other side, only a few know the story of this man, born in Beirut, his hometown, as a Jazz musician, that for years toured the Middle East with his ensemble.

Musician and dance teacher, he transferred in the 40s to the USA, with his family, where he continued composing and studying the piano at the Juilliard School. In New York he met Frank Sinatra and they became friends. He collaborates many times with him, including the recording of 1966 “Strangers in the Night”, in which the rights were stolen by a certain Bert Kaempfert.

The legend, in fact, says that Avo showed one of his song, called “Broken Guitar”, to Sinatra, which at first was rejected, not for its melody, but for the lyrics that Sinatra didn’t want to sing. Later on, Frank decided to adopt the melody and to change the text. Avo’s mistake was sending the song to Kaempfert first, who was supposed to handle its publication in Germany.

In 1951 he met his wife Maria, she gave him four children. In 1952 he was called to arms for the war in Korea, where he was discharged with honors. In the following years, he started designing jewelry with his grandfather in Puerto Rico, and at the same time he continued his musical carrier at the Palmas De Mar Resort, where Avo’s passion for long filler cigars was born.