Born in Lucerne, Switzerland, GABRIELA spent her childhood in a bucolic idyll, amidst a family dairy farm surrounded by orchards. She grew up in a highly musical environment. At the age of five, she discovered her passion for singing while yodeling with her family’s traditional Swiss group.
Thriving during her two years at Berklee College of Music, she had the opportunity to perform and collaborate with heavyweights like Meshell Ndegeocello, Jack DeJohnette, and Angelique Kidjo. She recorded with veteran drummer J.R. Robinson and performed at 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival with guitarist Lee Ritenour’s band as a semi-finalist in the Shure Voice Competition.
More than a singer/songwriter, Martina is also a savvy bandleader who has attracted a core band featuring some of Boston’s finest players. A working ensemble for about four years, her group’s dynamic depends upon the improvisational skills of her players, who have considerable room to stretch out on many arrangements. And while she is deeply informed by jazz, having immersed herself in the music of Coltrane and Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dianne Reeves, she is also very versatile singing Pop, R&B classics.
