Janine Gastineau

Multi-genre vocalist Janine Gastineau sings jazz, Brazilian MPB, French chanson & other music from the Denver, Colorado metro area. ALL MY WILDEST DREAMS, her first solo album, released in November 2015, reflects her gift for investing emotion and soul in everything she sings.

"I adore the music of the Great American Songbook and the tunes of great jazz composers like Thelonious Monk," Gastineau says. "On ALL MY WILDEST DREAMS, I included at least one tune by my very favorites among the many in the jazz pantheon: Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Monk, Hoagy Carmichael. Adding the two Jobim tunes was a no-brainer, because of my love for bossa nova & samba. Incorporating Brazilian rhythms in several tracks also reflects this growing passion of mine."
 
"I made this album with six musicians who are both my friends and frequent collaborators. Stellar sidemen all, they've performed and recorded with myriad jazz artists of national & international fame, so I'm honored to also have them playing on my CD. These thirteen songs contain our collective joy for the music and a respect for one another that I cherish."

"Janine Gastineau has an attractive, distinctive and often-haunting voice that is quietly expressive. Whether it is straight ahead jazz, ballads or bossa-novas, she puts her stamp on each song, creating music that is filled with subtle surprises. Joined by some of Denver’s top players, Ms. Gastineau performs a set of her favorite standards, creating fresh and colorful interpretations that make the vintage songs not only sound relevant but brand new." - jazz critic Scott Yanow

"This is one of the best CD’s to come out of a local artist; great arrangements with a diverse offering of jazz tunes." - blogger Kevin MacInness, www.jazznoco.com.

"The best version of 'INSENSATEZ' I've ever heard." - Jerry Maddock, host of KGNU's Jazz Lives, on a track from ALL MY WILDEST DREAMS.

Janine grew up listening to everything from classical to Motown and the pop music of the day. College vocal study led to singing in foreign languages: French, Italian, Latin & German, and after working for several years in professional musical theatre, she began her solo singing career in 2006. “Singing is kinesthetic, intellectual, emotional, spiritual," Gastineau says. "The elements of a song - melody, lyrics, harmonics, rhythm - are all vehicles that help to connect you with the human condition. I try to bring that expression, that emotion, to every performance."

A gifted writer and cabaret performer, Gastineau has also created several original musical revues, including 3 that celebrate the music of Stephen Sondheim (with actor/singer Paula Jayne Friedland): ART ISN’T EASY (2008), OUR TIME (2013) and the critically acclaimed LOVE, MARRIAGE & OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS (2014). She also wrote and performed THOU SWELL, THOU WITTY: An Evening with Rodgers & Hart in 2011 (music arranged by Eduardo “Bijoux” Barbosa), and in 2014 created BOTH SIDES NOW: The Songs of Joni Mitchell,  with vocalist Terri Jo Jenkins.
 
But jazz and Brazilian music remain Gastineau’s first and best loves, and make up much of what she performs year-round. “These two genres contain the most poetic, intricately constructed, and beautifully melodic songs ever written," she says. "Songs that demand strong musical chops, great technique AND the emotional honesty to bring them to fullest fruition. That’s why I never tire of singing them, and will forever consider myself a student of both genres. It's my biggest hope that I can inspire others to fall in love with this music, too."

Sign up for her mailing list and get a free download here! And check out her new album here