Back by popular demand, Gretchen Martin is playing at Gaia Java on Friday, November 7 at 7pm.
Gretchen has played in the shop several times and always elicits a warm and favourable response from whoever is able to be there on the night. I frequently hear the same question from regulars “When is Gretchen coming in to play again?” This is because she plays and sings a fine selection of many familiar songs, and in a very musical and professional way.
Her confident and competent piano style will remind you of Elton John, Billy Joel, and other well-known names. In addition she has a great singing voice and complements the instrumental part with a lyrical line. If you go to our website and visit the events page you can hear a sample of her singing and playing. She has a wide range of other influences (Eagles, Stan Rogers, Lionel Ritchie etc..)
This skillset derives from a family with a very musical background and consistent attention to practicing! Clearly this is a singer and pianist with a background immersed in music – she explained that she was born and raised in Winnipeg, where her parents started her on piano lessons at age 5. Her father was a church organist and former Music Professor at the University of Manitoba and her mother an accomplished church organist, and former piano/theory teacher.
She has recently joined the ‘Ottawa Idol band’ as their keyboardist. This is a wonderful local project founded and created by Eldon Fox, and it encourages the aspirations of young singers from the Ottawa area to reach for their dreams and perform their music with a live band.
So do come along and hear Gretchen – you won’t be disappointed but you may encounter some competition for the best seats!
No entry charge for purchasing customers, but remember the best seats go first, and we put out a ‘donations’ jar so that appreciative customers can contribute to the well-being of the marvellous musicians who come to entertain us.
November and December continue to feature a stellar line-up of Ottawa musicians – check out the gaiajava.ca website for advance notice, and mark up your agendas.