Today, we’re meeting a fellow New Yorker! This is Jazz vocalist Martina DaSilva, and I think she’s a fantastic blend of modern and “trad jazz” (I did not make that up) styles. DaSilva is perhaps best known for her Living Room video series. Like many artists, during the pandemic, she turned her apartment into a recording and performance space. Inspired by the intimacy that created, DaSilva actually released four albums from there, and she’s continued her (literal) in-house performance videos and recordings since the world opened back up. She has recently moved her performances to a Portland jazz club called The 1905, but critics say the atmosphere is just as electric and the new venue serves as the “perfect backdrop to her compilation of original arrangements to American songbook classics”

DaSilva’s arrangements certainly are interesting. There’s nothing unoriginal about her interpretations of songs, both familiar and un. I really enjoy her tone and facility with the genre. I feel like she could turn anything into jazz without making it annoying (no small task). The other thing for which DaSilva has made a name for herself is her easy, seemingly-effortless collabs with a wide range of other artists including the darling Frenchie Laura Anglade about whom I’ve posted previously. Thanks to her YouTube channel, I now have a long list of new (to me) names to pursue for future posts! These collaborators truly have to be amazing musicians to keep up with DaSilva’s sometimes-wild arrangements, and she’s found some incredible performers to play with.

You can follow Martina DaSilva on her website and on YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.