“Ms. Stravelli’s emotional intelligence coincides with a phenomenal voice that she wielded with an easygoing confidence and impeccable taste.”
-Stephen Holden, The New York Times
Vocalist and songwriter Gabrielle Stravelli blends musical traditions with a modern, genre-bending sensibility. The rhythmic swing of jazz frames her original compositions while as an actor and storyteller she reinterprets the Great American Songbook as well as works by contemporary artists as varied as Willie Nelson, Chick Corea and John Fogerty. Unexpected, highly individual choices are her trademark.
Gabrielle has toured the United States with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performing his masterwork Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration. She was chosen by world-renowned jazz pianist Fred Hersch to premiere his song cycle, Rooms of Light, at Montclair University PAC.
Since 2015 she has toured internationally with the “American Music Abroad” (AMA) program, performing and teaching throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In 2019, Gabrielle and her quintet headlined the Providencia Jazz Festival in Santiago, Chile, the Las Condes Jazz Festival and the 10th Annual Semana Internacional de Jazz en la Patagonia. She headlined the 2021 and 2018 Jazz on the Mountain Festival at the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, NY and has appeared at the 2019 Kota Kinabalu Music and Dance Festival in Malaysia, the 2016 Eleuthera All That Jazz Festival in the Bahamas, the 2013 Maree Sonore Festival in Venice and the 2013 Kastav Cultural in Croatia.
From August 2020-December 2021, Gabrielle’s trio featuring Michael Kanan on piano and Pat O’Leary on bass, played live every Saturday night at The West Bank Cafe in New York City (Live music is temporarily suspended and will resume in spring 2022).
Gabrielle remained active during the pandemic teaching and performing online concerts for Birdland Jazz Club, Smalls, the Soapbox Gallery and the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in NJ. In October of 2021 she made her debut in person at The Django in Tribeca and in January of 2022 she made her debut at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, FL in a show with iconic singer-pianist Billy Stritch.
In 2020 Gabrielle hosted “The Early Set” every Wednesday online, featuring lively and insightful conversations with established and emerging American and international jazz artists including trumpeter Marcus Printup, vocalists Janis Siegel, Lauren Kinhan and Ann Hampton Callaway, guitarist Camila Meza, Brazilian percussionist Nanny Assis, drummer Sherrie Maricle, pianist Dena DeRose, trumpeter/vocalist Benny Benack III and more. With a mix of humor and genuine curiosity, Gabrielle got her guests to open up about their creative process, their musical influences and the finer points of their technique. View all episodes HERE.
“Pick Up My Pieces: Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson,” released in 2019, is a jazz and blues exploration that mines Nelson’s catalog, from his earliest works to his most recent. The album’s release was celebrated with a sold out concert at the iconic Birdland Jazz Club and again as the opening act for the 2021 Jazz on the Mountain Festival at Mohonk Mountain House. The album has received unanimous accolades from critics for All About Jazz, The Midwest Record, and a featured write-up in The Wall Street Journal.
“Dream Ago” released in 2017 is another creative leap, featuring original material and earning a rare five-star review from DownBeat Magazine. “Dream Dancing” the album’s opening track, was placed on the Spotify editorial playlist “Women of Jazz” and has been streamed over 25,000 times. Gabrielle and her trio showcased the album with a headlining performance at the 2018 WBGO Jazz on the Mountain Festival, and in performances at major venues throughout the country, in addition to touring in Italy and Norway.
Gabrielle is a master vocal teacher for the National YoungArts Foundation and is faculty for Singnasium, the Kaufman Center's Lucy Moses Special Music School and the U. S. Department of State as a Jazz Ambassador. While touring in the U.S., Gabrielle has conducted masterclasses at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (her alma mater), Loyola University Maryland, Wayne State in Detroit and the South Florida Conservatory of Music in Hollywood.
In 2020, she was honored with the Bistro Award for Outstanding Recording (“Pick Up My Pieces”); the 2019 Broadway World Cabaret Award for Best Jazz Vocalist; the 2015 MAC Award for Best Female Vocalist; and the 2015 Bistro Award as a Jazz Vocalist.
Gabrielle holds a BFA from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Home page photos by Jenny Anderson