Tallana intro

Tallana Tells You a Story

Brought up in Moscow, Jewish, trained in New York and now very much a Berliner – Tallana Gabriel brings a rich cultural mix to her jazz.

She pays tribute to the warmth of New Yorkers, who gave her support and encouragement in her early performances, whilst still a student.

Particularly important is the oral tradition of her family, which goes back generations.

`Many jazz singers love to sing in a way that lets their voice sound like an instrument and that can be beautiful, ´she says.

`But my approach is more narrative, to tell you a story with my song. That’s the way I was brought up, with stories of love and trial and great tenderness.

`Combine  that with beautiful music and you have the means to make people really happy´.

Tallana/Romeo

Wherefore Art Thou, Tallana?

As a child at a Moscow theatre, Tallana Gabriel wept real tears at the fate of Romeo and Juliet.

`I was astonished when they came back on and bowed at the end,´she says. `I thought they were dead!´

It was her first exposure to the power of great acting – a lesson she brings with her to her jazz singing.

`A good actor has to take every single member of the audience by the hand and lead her,´ Tallana adds. `I want us to fly away together. It is a totally shared experience. I know that, if I sing well, I can make people really happy´.

Like many performers, Tallana is nervous – even frightened – before a performance. `But all my nervousness disappears the moment I set foot upon the stage. Many people are forced to wear a mask their whole life.

`But my songs are my confession. They give me the possibility to express myself openly. I know that the slightest falseness will be discovered by my audience. I feel totally re-charged with the energy I get from the hall – it is a wonderful feeing!

`Any artist will tell you, it’s a two-way thing. The audience is just as much part of any performance as the artist´.

Tallana/New York

Hi Auntie! It’s me (after 20 years)!

A chance meeting in America with a relative she’d never met led Tallana Gabriel to study jazz singing in New York, where she sang with Etta Jones and in the Bigband of Charles Tolliver.

Her Aunt, formerly a well-known conductor in Moscow, had settled in America in the 1970s and Tallana’s family had lost touch. By coincidence, it turned out the aunt was living in the same apartment block as friends that Tallana was visiting in the Winter of 1996.

`My friends told her that they had a guest from Germany and found themselves introducing me to my own aunt´, Tallana explains.

`It was she who recommended me to apply for the New School University in New York, which was gaining a great reputation for its comparatively new jazz program. I told her I wanted to study music and become a singer and she virtually forced me to apply!

`So I enrolled and left Berlin for New York in 1997. I competed my formal education in 2001 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, Jazz and Contemporary Music´.

Whilst still a student, Tallana got to sing at private parties, presentations, openings and exhibitions – all opportunities to build experience and develop her jazz performance.

Tallana’s Idols

Make Mine Ella, Billie, Sarah

Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan lit Tallana Gabriel’s pathway into jazz.

`They are my idols – any female jazz singer would give you the same list of names,´ she says.

`Nobody can ever excel like they did. What they did can never be repeated or improved upon. They will always be a benchmark for every jazz singer´.

Tallana – thank you America

Thank you, New York, thank, you Etta!!!

New York audiences gave Tallana Gabriel the confidence to build a career in jazz.

Tallana went to New York in 1997 to study Fine Art and Jazz.`There are stereotypes, some people still think any artist out of Russia must wear felt boots and carry an open bottle of vodka in his hand!´she says.

´Even in New York, it still seems exotic when a Russian sings jazz, `she says.  `But American people assess others by the way they do their job and I was always welcomed very warmly. Thanks to a coincidence I have met Ms. Etta Jones who took me to  the stage with her. It made so much to me as a Jazz singer. She would support me with a worm smile and everyone in the audience did the same…’

`I like to work with open-minded people who love music and appreciate real art´.

Tallana/ Star sign

The Warm-hearted Ice Maiden!

Tallana Gabriel is a Capricorn. As such, she is a responsible, reliable, kindhearted and strong person, whose climb to the pinnacle of success is slow but very sure.

She values friendship, traditions, family and the kind of wisdom which is passed down through generations.

Capricorns are very romantic by nature and constant in love – although they never show it!

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and Saturn is surrounded by a circle of ice, which means it can take a while before one gets through the `ice gate´and truly gets to know a Capricorn.

It sometimes needs a lot of patience but your patience will certainly be rewarded. Once you really get to know them, Capricorns are very inviting, welcoming, funny people with a great sense of humor and a lot of style. They are also full of nice surprises!