Her broad repertoire - from the popular songbook and the blues to samba and a variety of Latin forms - is the veritable gumbo that constitutes American jazz. She truly brings an international perspective to her songs: no wonder "Old Country," the title track of her new CD, contains such great insight.
Tranchina's talents have earned her a place on the stages of Birdland, the Blue Note, Metronome, the New Yorker Club, the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Academy Museum, among others. For a time, she hosted the Squire's popular open mic night. Her versatility with languages - she is tri-lingual and sings in English, German and French as well as Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish - has made her an asset to tour operators and hotels. She has performed for special events at New York's Marriott Marquis, Rockefeller Center's Sea Grill, and on Spirit Cruises. Her husband, the pianist Joe Vincent Tranchina, often accompanies her.
In addition to her busy schedule in the Tri-State area, Gabriele has won praise in her native Germany for appearances at the Hessen Jazzfest, Jazzfest Mörfelden-Walldorf, the Mainz Arts and Crafts Festival, as well as Darmstadt's Heinerfest and Hochzeitsturmfest. That tiny city, known as a center of German jazz, also boasts numerous clubs: Tranchina has played its prestigious Achteckiges Haus, Oktave Jazzclub, and Café KUK. Renowned composer/big band leader Connie Scheffel chose Tranchina to record a number of his works. Berlitz's Rush Hour German - a boy-meets-girl, musical theater adventure that departs from standard format language tapes - also features Tranchina's voice.
She holds a BFA in Music and Physical Education with a teaching degree from J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt. By the age of 20, Tranchina had traveled throughout Europe and spent a year touring India, Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. She pursued a career as a dancer and arrived in New York City to further her studies. Enrolled as a foreign student at Peridance and then the Broadway Dance Center/Ballet Arts, Tranchina danced for Ned Williams William Adair, Igal Perri and several other up-and-coming choreographers. Although an injury caused her to retire in 1993, New York and its music scene would not let her go.
She would meet vocal legends Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan, now long time friends and mentors, and began to organize vocal workshops for them (a story detailed in "Mark Murphy: Workshops Without Water Wings" Jazz Times Educational Supplement, 2002). Tranchina also studied with vocalists Nancy Marano, Dominique Eade, and Jay Clayton, with lessons in improvisation from pianist Connie Crothers. Sessions with vocal coach Jeannie Lovetri, who heads the New York Voice Teachers Association and counts Meredith Monk and Helen Merrill among her pupils, helped Tranchina perfect her spectacular three octave range. She enjoys a sound reminiscent of "cool school" vocalists June Christy and Chris Connor.
Website :- www.gabrieletranchina.com
