Martina DaSilva has a voice not in-keeping with today's echelon of pop stars--and that's probably how she wants it. In her new video, in which she covers the Ellington-Webster tune "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," DaSilva's illustrious voice soars with a certain operatic texture but also with a prevailing, soothing jazz hue, too.
Having headed the Ladybugs as well as performing at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room, Ms. DaSilva is certainly rooted in jazz as a singer. Her voice, though, doesn't resemble your run of the mill female contemporary jazz vocalists however. In the beginning seconds of the "I Got It Bad" video, one can't help but feel like her pitch resonates not unlike a low-range opera singer.
But she's not all opera, folks. Once she's finished being an opera star, her voice croons downward and you begin to understand that this isn't a recital, it's full-blown jazz. Singing over a single piano, the track doesn't sit inside too many layers (which is one detail already separating the singer from her lesser-talented vocal associates) and DaSilva's voice generates a haunting brilliance as the top line.
One thing about singing jazz, especially if you're running the same highways as, say, Billie Holiday, then the linear quality of your vocal runs and vibrato should bleed into one another, making the voice flow like another instrument and not just a face for the foreground.
That's what DaSilva accomplishes with ease, these traditional jazz elements, but she takes it a step further with an added bravado to her singing, adding a different kind of power (I cite my previous "opera star" comment here).
And it's lucky for us at Classicalite that we are able to premiere DaSilva's minimalist music video for the Duke Ellington cover, too.
So don't let us do all the talking for you. Instead, ladies and gentlemen, preview Ms. Martina DaSilva in an astounding rendition of a jazz classic below.
Be sure to find Martina DaSilva around New York City, also, as she is performing Saturdays at a weekly jazz brunch at Bath Tub Gin, a Blue Note brunch show this Valentine's Day and a Tuesday, Feb. 16 show at Club Bonnafide.
