Martin Giorgieff

“Personal” is a very intimate Album where the music represents different stories and life events. Feelings are embedded in the songs in a simple way and there is a straight forward connection between what it is felt at the moment of creation and what it is heard from the listener. My objective is to share the magic of representing many of these personal events in music. I believe that words are not always needed to accomplish a direct communication between the artist and the listener, and that notes -as well as words- also can represent a direct message. Every song in this Album has a strong meaning to me and exposes emotions and feelings that are connected all throughout the songs.

This song is inspired in a multi talented friend named Alvaro Pacello. He is a Bassist and Composer from Uruguay who also is Luthier and a Drawing artist. He had to go trough a very difficult health situation that has disabled him to play his instrument. This song is meant to be a message to him and that message is that even he can’t physically play his instrument, his music is inside him, and we all can hear it directly from his inside. It sounds like this...

Fog sometimes don’t let you see clearly what way the road will turn. Applying this analogy to real life experiences is when you feel uncertainty about where your life is heading. This generates a special state of mind. Nervousness, anxiety, fear, and hope are mixed all together creating a very particular feeling. This song was created under this circumstance where the “fog” is so thick that it is very hard to know what route your life will take in the next intersection.

This Standard was always one of my favorites. It is one of the first that I learned back in days in my first jazz learning experiences in Uruguay. After having been mentored in Jazz here in the US by Andy Fusco my approach to this style changed forever. He taught me the roots and the essence of this style and for many years he believed in me and in my music. Because of how much he impacted me for so many years this arrangement is dedicated to him.

“Tough times brings good music”. This is a phrase that one uncle of mine used to always say. This song is a great example of that. It comes in one of those moments in life when you feel you are on the brink of quitting or giving up because you can’t visualize a solution of a problem.

This song was done as a gift to the son of a great friend Fernando Cotelo. Facundo was a baby when he suffered from a heart anomaly that made him and the entire family go trough difficult times. After many years of nervousness and uncertainty Facundo was able to recover and was able to transition into a “normal” childhood experience. While his parents were an example of faith, hard work, strength and believe, all of us that were close to them were also being impacted by it as well. Trough this song I wanted to grant Facundo something that would represent his strong heart and the positivity that helped him overcome this difficult time. In the video, around the middle of the piece, you can experience Facundo’s perspective of his daily routine and music patterns that represent his strong heart.

There are always moments during your learning when a Teacher has a great impact in your life. This is the case of my Classical Piano Teacher Marta Marchena. She has had such a great impact on my playing and on my ability to connect with the instrument. She shaped me in many ways, but technically she enable me to let my musicality flow through the instrument. She always made emphasis on the importance of reaching the best sound out of the Piano. This expanded me the ability of expressing myself more freely and in a natural way.

This is an Improvised piece. Like all the Improvisations that I do the idea is to create a song in the moment. A fun fact of this track is that it really was an improvisation that I did in order for the camera men to take some pictures while I would play some music to capture some good live moments. At the end, so much magic happened during this performance that it ended up being part of the Album.

The Beatles were part of my early days of music listening. My Father introduced me to their music and showed me the great impact that they had in the world. This track represents two things or has two motives of being in the Album. On the one hand an honoring of the Beatles music and a thanks for their impact not only on me but to the music all over the world. On the other hand an honoring to my late father that would had loved to hear me play this version of one of his favorites band.

This song is probably the more emotive piece of the Album. It was done for my youngest daughter Amanda. The harmony and melody define her in many ways. A strong personality that blends with a sweetness of character. A beautiful feature of this track is the participation of my oldest daughter Anna recording vocals in this track. This is a very special moment in which I get to share this unique experience with her and what better that to sing on her own sister’s song. It makes me very proud. In the final section of the piece you hear Amanda telling a story to her sister enclosing the circle of love that family is all about.

Piano, Vocals: Martin Giorgieff.

Special Guest: Anna Giorgieff (Vocal Track 9).

All songs are composed and arranged by Martin Giorgieff except Stella by Starlight (Victor Young) and Blackbird (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)

Recorded in Sound on Sound Studios (Montclair, New Jersey/ September 2019) by Engineer David Amlen and Assistent Engineer Chris Gold. Additional Recordings: Vocals (Track 4,6,8,9) in Sound on Sound Studios (October 2020) by David Amlen. Guest Vocal and Vocals Editing (Track 9) in SheffaHome Studio (Summit, New Jersey/ October 2020) by Martin Giorgieff. Mixed at Sound and Sound Studios (November, 2020) by David Amlen and Martin Giorgieff. Mastered in Sound on Sound Studios (November 2020) by David Amlen. Cover and Art Design by Sebastian Prada. Photography by Adam Frumkin.

All rights reserved to Martin Giorgieff / Sheffa Music.