Singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rachelle Garniez has spent her career moving between musical traditions, drawing inspiration from everything from salsa and jazz to Tin Pan Alley and rock.
Garniez grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side in the 1970s. Her mother was a classical musician, but Garniez says she was equally influenced by the music she heard outside her home — including salsa, conga players in the park, free concerts, jazz and independent radio.
“I absorbed a lot of information from that music, but I also just gravitated much to the sounds of the outside,” Garniez said.
Her musical influences ranged from Joni Mitchell and Billie Holiday to Blondie, and Duke Ellington. But Garniez didn’t initially plan to become a musician.
At 17, she traveled through Europe, eventually spending time in Spain. There, she encountered flamenco singers performing in small towns.
“People would just stand up and sing solo under the stars,” she said. “This actually was the thing that blew my mind open.”
The experience convinced her she wanted to become a singer.
After returning to New York, Garniez discovered another instrument that would shape her career: the accordion. She initially picked one up as a joke for a performance with a friend, but quickly became fascinated by it.
“It was like a little baby that you hold and cradle and it breathes and it’s a character actor,” she said.
The accordion also helped her connect with people from different musical backgrounds.
“So yeah, the accordion really was like this kind of like a passport,” Garniez said.
That sense of musical exploration continues on her latest album, Born in Time, a collaboration with longtime friend and producer Andrew Morris. The album brings together songs from different eras and traditions, including Tin Pan Alley material and a Bob Dylan deep cut.
Garniez describes herself as “genre fluid,” although she says she tends toward acoustic music.
She’ll bring that eclectic approach to the Rock Valley School House in Long Eddy on Sunday, Aug. 16, at 4 p.m. Suggested admission is $10, supporting the Rock Valley School House.
Garniez says intimate community venues offer something increasingly rare.
“I absolutely support this way of connecting with audiences,” she said, praising old schoolhouses, Grange halls and other community spaces that provide places for live performance. “It’s almost more challenging to be in this little space.”
Image: Rachelle Garniez is a songwriter, singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. (Rachelle Garniez)