Biography of roberta gamberini
Roberta Gambarini
Roberta Gambarini | |
|---|---|
Photo by Ed Newman | |
| Born | Turin, Italy |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Jazz, vocal jazz |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | s–present |
| Labels | EmArcy |
| Website | |
Musical artist
Roberta Gambarini is an Italian-American jazz singer.
Early life
Gambarini was born in Turin, Italy, where she attended jazz concerts, clubs, and festivals with her parents. Her father played the saxophone, and she grew up hearing jazz in the house, and learning by listening to records. Her first instrument was clarinet when she was 12, then piano. When she was 18, she moved to Milan to pursue a career as a vocalist. In Milan she worked in radio and television .
Musical career
Gambarini moved to the and won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. A few weeks after her arrival in America, she entered the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition and came in third behind Teri Thornton and Jane Monheit. She was invited to sing in New York City, where she sang with Billy Higgins, Harold Land, Ronnie Matthews, Jimmy Heath, Ben Riley, Curtis Fuller, Clark Terry, and Ronnie Matthews. In she met Benny Carter who introduced her to the jazz community as his protegee, and shortly after, James Moody. Moody became her teacher, mentor, and friend. Roberta and Moody collaborated extensively in concerts,tours and recordings until the passing of the great saxophonist in
In , she started touring with the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, performing with James Moody, John Lee, Frank Wess, Jimmy Heath, Paquito d'Rivera, Mulgrew Miller, Claudio Roditi,Paquito D'Rivera, and Roy Hargrove. From to she toured with her own trio, as well as the Hank Jones trio.
She sang with Afro-Cuban Jazz Master Chucho Valdes in Europe and the US.
She performed with Dave Brubeck and his quartet on a number of concerts, including the premiere of "Cannery Row Suite", a pie
Roberta Gambarini was born in Torino, Italy, into a family where jazz was much loved and appreciated. She began listening to this music as a child and started taking clarinet lessons when she was twelve years old. By the time she was 17, she began singing and performing in jazz clubs around Northern Italy and at the age of 18, she decided to move to Milan to pursue a career as a jazz singer.
Soon after her move to Milan, still in her teens, Roberta took third place in a national jazz radio competition on TV, leading to performance opportunities at jazz festivals throughout Italy. She has performed in Jazz broadcasts on the Italian radio and TV channels and recorded since both under her own name and as a guest. In , she worked with French Hammond organ player Emmanuel Bex, touring jazz clubs throughout Italy.
In she moved to the United States with a scholarship from the New England Conservatory in Boston. Two weeks later, Roberta stunned many in the jazz world with a third place finish in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition.
Since then, she has performed with Michael Brecker, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Slide Hampton, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, Christian McBride, and Toots Thielemans, amongst many others, and has performed at Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Town Hall and Walt Disney Concert Hall, and jazz festivals around the world such as Barbados, London, Monterey, North Sea, Toronto, and Umbria.
A dynamic performer with virtuosic vocal chops, she draws rave reviews and enthusiastic fan support wherever she performs. And shes done so with no hype and to the astonishment of many no domestic releases. Until now: on June 6, , GROOVIN High will release Robertas North American debut, Easy to Love.
Roberta Gambarini
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Born and raised in Turin, Italy, to music loving parents (who had actually first met at a jazz concert), two-times Grammy nominated singer Roberta Gambarini grew up constantly listening to her father’s record collection. Her first vocal inspiration was the music of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, but she soon discovered Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday,and Carmen McRae, as well as gospel and blues artists such as Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Smith. At age 12 she began studying clarinet, but realizing the versatility and talents of her clear alto, she moved to voice, singing and performing in clubs by the time she was
In , Gambarini received a scholarship to study for two years at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Barely 2 weeks after setting foot on american soil for the first time, Roberta surprised the jazz world by being one of the runner-ups in the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition.
With this recognition as a springboard and the assistance of some of the greatest musicians in the world, who immediately appreciated her talent and invited her to perform with them, she quickly became a fixture on the international jazz circuit, appearing in major concert halls, Festivals and clubs around the globe ( Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl , Jazz at Lincoln Center , the North Sea Jazz Festival, and many more) .
As a result, Roberta has had the good fortune to appear in concert and record with such Giants as Dave Brubeck, James Moody, Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Michel & Randy Brecker, Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Cobb, Al Foster, Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, Harold Mabern, Toots Thielemans, Paquito D’Rivera, Chucho Valdez, Mark O’Connor, Cyrus Chestnut, Percy Heath, Ron Carter, Johnny Griffin, the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars Big Band, Billy Higgins, Cedar Walton, Ray Drummond, George Cables, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Burrell, Wynton
Roberta Gambarini
ROBERTA GAMBARINI was born in Torino, Italy, into a family where jazz was much loved and appreciated. She began listening to this music as a child and started taking clarinet lessons when she was twelve years old. By the time she was 17, she began singing and performing in jazz clubs around Northern Italy and at the age of 18, she decided to move to Milan to pursue a career as a jazz singer.
Soon after her move to Milan, Roberta took third place in a national jazz radio competition on TV, leading to performance opportunities at jazz festivals throughout Italy. She performed on Jazz broadcasts on Italian radio and TV channels and in began recording both under her own name and as a guest. In , she worked with French Hammond organ player Emmanuel Bex, touring jazz clubs throughout Italy.
In she moved to the United States with a scholarship from the New England Conservatory in Boston. Two weeks later, Roberta stunned many in the jazz world with a third place finish in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition.
A dynamic performer with virtuosic vocal chops, she draws rave reviews and enthusiastic fan support wherever she performs. And until her North American debut, Easy to Love (Groovin’ High/Kindred Rhythm), was released on June 6, , she had done so with just word of mouth alone.
On Easy to Love, Roberta showed off her instrumental approach and warm timbre, impeccable timing and intonation, incredible technique and scatting and improvisation skills on a set of 12 excellent jazz standards and classic songs from The Great American Songbook. The album also included two bonus tracks and featured special guest James Moody on a scintillating scat duel.
Easy to Love was nominated for a GRAMMY® in in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category (along with albums by Karrin Allyson, Nancy King, Diana Krall, and Nancy Wilson). Roberta’s “formidable talent” (DownBeat Magazine) has also garnered her wins as the Female Jazz Singer of the Year from