Classically trained pianist, vocalist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger and producer Macha Gharibian first discovered her own musical universe through immersing herself in the New York jazz scene. With Armenian ancestry, a Parisian heart, and a New Yorker by adoption, her new record spotlights her voice as an ode to life and testament to feminine power.

Borrowing its name from a poem by the great Maya Angelou, Gharibian’s fourth album ‘Phenomenal Women’ is set to release on January 24th on Rue Bleue Meredith Records.

Pre Order here

Captivated by a video of Angelou reciting her poem in London in 1987, Gharibian found herself urged to pay musical tribute to the poet, and to the strength of all women. “In all the battles we are fighting right now—against sexism, the violence women endure, and for equality—I want to tell them, “We are brilliant, we are the wealth, the intelligence, and the power, we are phenomenal.””

Influenced by the school of ‘natural vocalists’ in Nina Simone, Jeanne Lee and Joni Mitchell, Gharibian’s luminescent energy leads her listener through the record’s delicately varied tonal palette of celebration, prayer, joy, and melancholy across the album’s ten original compositions and three imaginative covers.

Drawing from the music of her childhood*—especially her father's voice (Dan Gharibian, co-founder of the group Bratsch), which she heard singing in Armenian, Russian, Greek, and Romani—*Gharibian blends her personal cultural heritage with contemporary styles, singing in five languages on Phenomenal Women, embracing the inflections of English, Armenian, French, Portuguese and Arabic with undeniable ease.

Accompanied by her long-term collaborator Belgian drummer Dré Pallemaerts and bassist Kenny Ruby, Gharibian breaks away from the trio format she’s known for and shares her vocal duties for the first time with singers Lea Maria Fries, Linda Oláh and Isabel Sörling. Soaring gospel-tinged improvisations and three-part vocal harmony, ethereal synth timbres, propulsive piano-led grooves, and crystal clear modern production provide the musical backdrop for a body of work that offers hope and unity in a divided world.

Macha Gharibian | Lead Vocals, Piano, Fender Rhodes Lea Maria Fries | Vocals
Linda Oláh | Vocals Dré Pallemaerts | Drums Sylvain ‘Kenny’ Ruby | Electric Bass, Keyboards Isabel Sörling | Vocals (Track 3)

All music and lyrics by Macha Gharibian, except ‘Nare Nare’, ‘Nobreza’, and ‘Ya Dirati’

'Thank you to those who appreciate this music and come to the concerts, your presence and your support are immensely precious to me. To all the women who inspire me to find my own path and to all the women in the world who fight for peace, freedom and equality. My immense gratitude to Maya Angelou.'

Recorded at Midilive Studio, Villetaneuse, France, from March 4 to 8, 2024 and at Seventeen Studio, Paris, on May 8, 2024

Produced by Macha Gharibian

Artistic Direction in the Studio Daniel Yvinec

Sound Recording and Mixing by Olivier Lude
Sound Assistant Timothée Gumy
Editing by Timothée Gumy and Macha Gharibian
Mastered by Frederik Dejongh at Jerboa Mastering
Cover & Photography by Laurent Seroussi

Graphic Design by Guillaume Saix
Piano Steinway D fixed by Bastien Herbin, Pianos Quintessence

Executive Production by Meredith Prod
With the support of the Fondation BNP Paribas, Adami, CNM, SPPF

© & P 2024 RUE BLEUE & MÉRÉDITH PROD

Thank you to Liam DeTar from Jazzfuel for sharing with us