GABRIELA MARTINA - STATES
Released on May 23rd 2024!!!
GABRIELA MARTINA (CH/US) – voice & composition & arrangements
VANCIL COOPER (US) – drums & percussion
KYLE MILES (US) – acoustic & electric bass
JUSSI REIJONEN (FI/US)– electric & acoustic guitar
MAXIM LUBARSKY (UA/US)- piano & keys
BEN ROSENBLUM (US)– accordion
Guest musicians:
JASON PALMER (US) - trumpet & flugelhorn
KHRYS WILLIAMS (US) - spoken word
NASEEM ALATRASH (Palestine) - cello
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Luis Bacqué
at ww.bacquerecording.com. New Jersey.
Assistant Engineer: Alex Conroy
Cinematography by Luis Bacqué
at www.bacquerecording.com New Jersey.
All music and lyrics have been written by Gabriela Martina. Exceptions are the intro of 'Alpha Bird' where I recomposed Franz Schubert's 'Erlkönig' that is based on the poem of Goethe. And 'Dreams’, which is a re-composition from 'Dreams' by The Cranberries, written by Dolores Mary O’Riordan and Noel Hogan.
“… WE CANNOT, BUT PROCLAIM ‘STATES’ TO BE A MASTERFUL JAZZY SINGER SONGWRITER ALBUM BY AN EXTRAORDINARY TALENT.”
Heaven Magazine (NL) | Eric van Domburg Scipio | 2024
BIO
Gabriela Martina is a Swiss-born vocalist and composer who uniquely blends jazz, classical, and world music, with a special emphasis on improvisation. Her work often draws on her upbringing in the Swiss Alps and explores themes of nature, spirituality, and human connection. Martina's critically acclaimed debut album, No White Shoes (2016), showcases her dynamic vocal range and inventive compositions, while her second album, Homage to Grämlis (2023), honors her rural roots. She has performed on prestigious stages such as Sculler Jazz Club and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In addition to performing, she teaches music and leads vocal workshops, sharing her passion for creative expression and vocal mastery.
My newest album called 'STATES', includes compositions that I been working on during the time of the pandemic 2020/21.
The word 'States' has more than one meaning. State comes from the Latin status meaning ‘condition of a country’. The word 'States' mostly gets associated with the United States of America. In what 'state of mind' are the 'States' currently finding themselves in? On this record I explored word play, political tension, different states of mind in order to express my findings through sound.
Will sound alone be able to transform my intentions to an audience? I went back to the roots of music, which is simply voice and drums, and used these two textures as the core elements for my compositions. I took advantage of the fact that a vocalist can make music with words, but I paid just as much attention to work on the playful side of writing compositions with words that have no meaning (gibberish).
Where and what will our States be in 2024? 2028? In 2030?
Alpha Bird refers to the eagle that was chosen as the emblem of the United States of America back in 1782, because of its long life, great strength, and majestic looks. The eagle represents freedom ...The lyrics are about the current 'state of the United States; so it speaks to the times we're currently finding ourselves in. The lyrical writing is influenced by Gertrude Stein.
FULL CIRCLE
Full Circle is a piece about climate change, a high conflict. It is about being together on this planet earth and about the fact that we all have to pitch in in order to make ends meet. There’s no time left. We have to act now. Finding peace would be a first step in order to be able to find a common ground – quite literally speaking. We only have one planet that we all share together. So let’s get on this before it’s too late.
The spoken word section is written and performed by Khrys Williams. Music and lyrics are written by Gabriela Martina.
THE ALBUM - STATES
FULL CIRCLE (06:45)
(with Khrys Williams, spoken word)
COME ON HOME (05:47)
(with Jason Palmer, flügelhorn)
ALPHA BIRD (06:19)
(inspired by Franz Schubert's 'Erlkönig')
THE CIRCUS (05:50)
SOSO (05:30)
DREAMS (06:21)
(written by The Cranberries, arranged by Gabriela Martina, with Khrys Williams, spoken word)
UNFOLD (10:22)
(with Naseem Alatrash, cello)
“THERE ARE SLIGHT SIMILARITIES TO OTHER’S WORKING IN THE MODERN JAZZ GENRE, BUT NONE WHICH SUBTRACT FROM THE SINGULAR PHRASING AND INSIGHT THAT GABRIELA MARTINA BRINGS TO HER ARTISTRY. “
– John Hammell, Homegrown RadioNJ
“Martina’s take of “A Night In Tunisia” is the most powerful I’ve heard since Chaka Khan recorded it in 1981!”
- Jerry Gordon, Serenade to a Cuckoo WPRB 103.3 FM, Princeton University
VIDEOS - unreleased!
LIVE PERFORMANCES
MUSICIANS
GABRIELA MARTINA - voice & compositions & arrangments
VANCIL COOPER - drums & percussion
MAXIM LUBARSKY - piano & keys
NASEEM ALATRASH - cello
KHRYS WILLIAMS - spoken word
KYLE MILES - acoustic & electric bass
JUSSI REIJONEN - electric & acoustic guitar
BEN ROSENBLUM - accordion
JASON PALMER - trumpet & flugelhorn