When one thinks of the great jazz cities in the world, Paris, Monterey, Montreal and New York are probably the top four that immediately come to mind. For jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli, she’s found herself singing in such diverse places as Malta, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Now she steps into another foreign land for the first time as a headliner: Los Angeles. Ms. Stravelli makes her West Coast debut with a concert at Upstairs at Vitello’s on Thursday night. She will then go on to The Sound Room in Oakland for a show Friday night.
The New York resident has, of course, played in the better-known jazz cities, including NYC. Stephen Holden of the New York Times said of one performance, “Ms. Stravelli’s emotional intelligence coincides with a phenomenal voice that she wielded with an easygoing confidence and impeccable taste. Her clear, rounded timbre, reminiscent at times of Ella Fitzgerald’s, didn’t strain for effect.”
I spoke with Ms. Stravelli the night before she left for Los Angeles about her approach to singing and songwriting (more on that below) and her thoughts about stepping on stage in Los Angeles.
When you tackle a standard, how do you take a song that’s been sung so many different ways, some of these recordings being iconic, and make it your own?
I do think that listening to other singers and instrumentalists is such a huge part of learning any genre. That is something you have to do. Then I think you have to step away from listening to recordings of other people and stop listening to them for any song you are working on. Then you have to get down to the business of mining the lyric, sing it a million times, practice at home and sit in on other people’s gigs and go to jam sessions and do it over and over again until you find yourself in it.
I try to look at it in terms of Ella Fitzgerald. Ella was the person I grew up listening to and then Carmen McRae and Peggy Lee and Sarah Vaughan. I’m not ever going to be those women. Nobody can be. For me I’m not trying to be them, but to be as great as they were. That’s a joyful, beautiful thing to reach for.
Ella Fitzgerald said “A lot of singers refuse to look for new ideas and new outlets, so they fall by the wayside. I’m going to try to find out the new ideas before others do.” Is it tougher to find new ideas today than it was in her day?
That’s an age-old challenge for creative people in general. I think that in a way we have access to so much more than somebody in Ella’s time did. In a way we have inspiration everywhere and less inspiration. That’s a lot. There’s so much to unpack there. My first instinct is to say that I don’t know that it’s necessarily more challenging today.
A lot of the material on your CDs (“Dream Ago,” Stairway to the Stars” and “Waiting in Vain”) is original material that you have written. What roles do those songs play in informing an audience who you are as a person and as a performer?
That’s a huge part of what they do. It’s your voice, your life story, that is informing these songs. It is a very intimate look into a person for an audience. It’s also a nice conduit for connecting with an audience because it gives them a greater sense of who you are. Then when you do a standard it gives the audience a greater sense of what you are bringing to a song.
Who amongst songwriters are the biggest influences on you?
I love Bob Dorough. His voice is so unique, so individual and so recognizable. [Dorough is best known for writing and performing the songs for Schoolhouse Rock.] Joni Mitchell is someone that I’ve listened to so much. It’s a totally unique voice as a writer, but I love the way she grew and changed stylistically over her career in a big way. Stevie Wonder is a favorite of mine. Johnny Mercer still doesn’t have any rivals of lyric writing all these years later. I still think the Gershwins are incredible. Look at all those songs Cole Porter wrote musically and lyrically.
Some people might be surprised to see a Bob Marley song on one of your CDs.
I know I’ve heard other singers say it, but a great lyric is a great lyric. If it holds up it doesn’t matter who wrote it. It doesn’t matter that it is a reggae artist.
What excites you most about making your West Coast debut?
I love the West Coast. I’ve really only been a handful of times, but every time I find myself thinking why don’t I live on the West Coast? I really do love New York, but I’m a summer baby and I do love the weather. I do love the vibe.
Because it is a big city like New York, it’s a savvy crowd. It’s a hip crowd with people who know what they are listening to. West Coast jazz is its own thing, but I think there’s more overlap in the styles these days. I think it is an audience that is open to a lot of different things and is receptive. I’m looking forward to that.
When you put together a set list for a given show do you factor in how familiar they are with you and how familiar you are with the room itself?
I do what I do and I don’t really worry too much about how it is going to be received. I don’t feel that’s my job. My job is to offer what I have to offer. I’ll gear the set a little more differently if it is really a room that is a strictly cabaret room or a jazz room. But what I do encompasses a lot of things. Over the years I’ve sometimes had people say to me, “I love you. I love your music, but we don’t know what to call it.” As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten more comfortable with that; being a hybrid and someone whose style straddles a bunch of different worlds. But it will be me.
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez