Gaea Schell is a San Francisco-based jazz pianist/composer/flutist and singer.

Early life

Schell is a native of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, where she grew up playing music from an early age. During the pursuit of a classical harp degree in college, she began listening to piano greats

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

and

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

, among others. This inspired a move east and subsequent graduation from the jazz program at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Later life and career

Schell gained valuable experience playing with protégés of

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of ...

, and

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

. A 1999 Canada Council for the Arts grant took Gaea to New York City where she studied with pianist Richie Beirach. Schell made her California debut as a featured performer at the San Jose Jazz Festival and has been performing professionally as a pianist (and recently vocalist) for over ten years in many diverse musical contexts. Her experience includes everything from trio to big band to solo work to orchestral performance. She has played with Nancy King,

John Stowell John F. Stowell (born July 30, 1950) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, author, and lecturer. Biography Stowell, who plays electric and acoustic guitar, was born in New York and raised in Connecticut. He had private studies with Linc ...

Tootie Heath Albert "Tootie" Heath (born May 31, 1935) is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he first recorded in 1957 with J ...

Tony Dumas Tony Dumas (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dumas played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), whose athletic program is now known as t ...

Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), a ...

, Ingrid Jensen, Bobby Watson,

Dan Faehnle Dan Faehnle is an American guitarist from Ohio who is a member of the band Pink Martini. He has worked with Joey DeFrancesco, Dave Frishberg, Terry Gibbs, Eddie Harris, Rebecca Kilgore, Diana Krall, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, and Leroy Vinnegar. Dis ...

, Earl Palmer, and

Gilbert Castellanos 'GilbertCastellanos (born 1972) is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, educator, composer, and arranger based in San Diego, California. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is a former member of the Black Note, the Tom Scott Quintet, the Ant ...

References

External links

Official site
American jazz pianists American jazz singers Living people 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-jazz-singer-stub