Emma Gilmartin
While her skill and training lie predominantly in jazz and Latin styles, Emma Gilmartin is passionate about, and experienced in, a variety of styles including soul, popular and Celtic. She has spent much of her musical life writing her own music in an original band in Melbourne.
Born in Melbourne, Emma Gilmartin has gained a reputation as one of Australia's most talented jazz vocalists. Her voice is undeniably beautiful, with "a crystalline purity of vibrato-less tone and flawless pitch that is so perfect it is almost unsettling" (Leon Gettler, The Age Green Guide).
In 2001 she completed a Bachelor of Music Performance (Improvisation) at the Victorian College of the Arts. It was there that she met Tony Gould, with whom she recorded her debut album, Tomorrow, Just You Wait and See (Move Records).
Since that first release she has performed regularly with her jazz quartet throughout Australia. Her second album, Songe, appeared in 2005 on Move Records. It features Will Poskitt, Ben Robertson, Rajiv Jayaweera and Eugene Ball, and gathers jazz standards with her own composition.
In 2005 she was selected as one of ten finalists in the National Jazz Awards, with the finals held at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival.
From 2006 to 2009 she toured extensively in Australia and abroad with the acclaimed a cappella/percussion group Coco's Lunch, and recorded Blueprint with the ensemble, nominated for Best World Album at the 2007 ARIA Awards.
Home, duets with Tony Gould, was released in late 2010.
She has taught voice at Monash University.
"Now and then, one hears a voice which instantly suggests uncommon beauty and musicality. Add to this a sensitivity to lyrics, impeccable sense of pitch, a rare control of vibrato, and you have wonderful artistry. This is what I hear in the singing of Emma Gilmartin. It all comes from her approach to both her art and her fellow human beings."
(Tony Gould)
"a crystalline purity of vibrato-less tone and flawless pitch [that] is so perfect that it is almost unsettling."
(Leon Gettler, The Age 'Green Guide')
"There is a lightness of being in the voice … a voice [that] must be listened to as well as heard."
(Michael Foster, Canberra Times)
"Gilmartin is a real find."
(Andrew Ford, Australian Financial Review)
Artist's website: emmagilmartin.com
Press quotes
[Emma] sings the songs pretty much the way the composers intended – no doubt prompting approving, albeit posthumous, nods from songsmiths like Richard Rodgers and Irving Berlin, both of whom famously loathed singers who took liberties with their works.
Gilmartin refurbishes a song through a crystalline purity of vibrato-less tone and flawless pitch. Indeed, her pitch is so perfect that it is almost unsettling … Gould's legato phrasing, melodic variation and ornamentation, and his emotional impact provide an ideal accompaniment that colours the voice. Listening to their dialogue is part of the treat. ★★★½
Emma Gilmartin is featured on the following titles
Home
Pianist Tony Gould and singer Emma Gilmartin offer intimate voice-and-piano readings of cherished songs, including three Gould originals, centred on home, family and childhood memory.
Songe
Emma Gilmartin’s follow-up to her collaboration with Tony Gould, Tomorrow, just you wait and see, is a poised jazz vocal set: standards, two of her own songs, and a clear, understated delivery.
Composer
Tomorrow, just you wait and see
Pianist Tony Gould and vocalist Emma Gilmartin share a programme of standards and originals, shaped as first-take, spontaneously conceived duets. Favourites sit beside less familiar songs, all chosen for melodic beauty and meaning.
Songwriter