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Gabrielle Cavassa
Jazz Coterie live music concert series welcomes Gabrielle Cavassa to our pop-up jazz club at the ALL NEW Great Northern Distilling in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Featuring Oscar Rossignoli on piano.
Vocalist, composer and master song interpreter Gabrielle Cavassa performs with clarity and command. An emerging talent out of New Orleans, the California-raised artist earned her position in the jazz scene by winning the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition in 2021, after being named a finalist in 2018. We first discovered this alluring rising star on Emmet’s Place hosted by pianist Emmet Cohen.
“Cavassa wields her light, supple voice like a paintbrush as she colorfully plays with time, lyrics, phrasing and melody.”
Her expression reflects influences ranging from Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse to Frank Ocean and Italian opera. Lyrical intention and rhythmic curiosity nourish her unique style. As a songwriter, she takes a poetic approach to her compositions,confronting challenging topics as though she’s sharing stark, intimate diary entries with the world. Her 2020 critically-acclaimed recording debut, Gabrielle Cavassa, co-produced by GRAMMY-nominated artist and collaborator Jamison Ross, includes features from fellow genre bending artists Braxton Cook and Ashlin Parker.
“Cavassa has a truly original approach to the music, which is quite refreshing and much needed.”
Growing up in San Diego, Cavassa heard "a lot of Frank Sinatra because my grandpa is Italian, and he just loved ol’ blue eyes.” Cavassa moved to the San Francisco area to attend college at San Francisco State, and that's when, "I really got into jazz. I didn't like studying voice, but I got into jazz history." She started going to live jazz performances and collecting records. Cavassa began working at one of Oakland, California’s storied clubs — the very spot where she landed her first regular gig as a leader. Then she started appearing at intimate venues and on famed stages throughout the Bay Area.
“An extraordinary interpreter of song... she surely had the audience hanging on to her every word.”
On a vacation trip to New Orleans in 2017, Cavassa was so amazed by the concentration of music, she moved there, quickly acclimating herself to the local music scene.
“A real jazz singer.”
Cavassa has garnered attention from critics and fellow artists, many of whom have become collaborators. She’s performed across the country and internationally with some of the music’s most creative voices, including Adonis Rose & The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Irvin Mayfield, Ashlin Parker and Jamison Ross. She’s shared the stage with such lauded artists as Cyrille Aimee, Quiana Lynell, Kermit Ruffins, and Shannon Powell.