Stereophile magazine says of Gabrielle Cavassa: “Her voice gets under your skin. “It is idiosyncratic, but it is trustworthy in its clarity and almost physical in its intimacy. Her intuitive interpretations and riveting voice make you sit very still in your chair.”
Cavassa won the International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition in 2021 after the independent release of her eponymous debut record in 2020. She was ushered into the spotlight through her collaboration with renowned saxophonist Joshua Redman on his 2023 record “where are we.” In a five-star album review in DownBeat magazine, Cavassa is hailed as “a young singer with a deep, rich and fragile voice — a star in the making.”
Born in Escondido, California, of Italian descent, Cavassa from a young age began obsessively listening to records. Largely self-taught, she developed a distinct approach to singing that would characterize her later success. Cavassa received a bachelor of arts in music from San Francisco State University, but says that her “real education” came from playing San Francisco jazz clubs throughout her college years.
In 2017, Cavassa moved to New Orleans, which shaped and deepened her relationship to storytelling and the blues. She made her first studio record in New Orleans, alongside producer and drummer Jamison Ross. In 2023, following the release of “where are we,” Cavassa began touring with the Joshua Redman Group, featuring several of today’s most exciting young players, and which has performed extensively across the United States, Europe and Asia.
DownBeat magazine writes that Cavassa’s work with Redman “evokes another, historic saxophone-vocal pairing, that of Lester Young and Billie Holiday.” Like Holiday, whom she cites as her greatest teacher, Cavassa displays “a vulnerability that reaches at the crux of our humanity. Her performance and songwriting are steeped in sensuality, melancholy, humor and soul.”
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSOA by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
