Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Gabriela Martina, No White Shoes

Some artists hit you on a wave-length that is a natural one for you, and do it with such flair and verve that you are hooked into the music for good and all. Gabriela Martina does that for me on her No White Shoes (self-released). With the exception of some vocalise versions of "Witch Hunt" (Shorter) and "Night in Tunisia" (Dizzy), these are all Gabriela's own songs and arrangements. They are poetic, sophisticated harmonically and melodically, with some rock/jazz overtones and a general unpredictability in the best sense. They stand out.

Her backing musicians are excellent, first-rate and add much to the feel of the music, but primarily this is all about Gabriela's clarion bell-tone voice, a very beautifully expressive instrument, her songs, most memorable and romantically poetic, and her arrangements, which have a dynamic clarity and dramatic pacing.

The more I hear this one the better it gets. Gabriela is marvelous! Hear this one a bunch of times. You'll get it, I have no doubt!

No comments:

Post a Comment