Album Notes

Graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music, after receiving the Best Achievement Scholarship, Marta Gómez has developed an extensive music career in the US which has placed her as one of the most interesting singer songwriters on the world music scene today.

Marta and her group perform a repertoire of original compositions based on a vast amount of rhythms from Latin America. On her songs, Marta mixes the joy of the Caribbean with the nostalgia of the Andes adding jazz and pop elements, taking the authenticity of South American indigenous folk music into a hip new realm.

With more than 70 composed songs, This young singer-songwriter not only traverses a whole range of Colombian cumbias and bambucos, Argentine zambas, Cuban sones and Peruvian landos but she also writes the kind of melodies and refrains that translate across whatever language she is singing in. That may be the reason that lead Marta to share the stage with musicians of different genres such as Bonnie Raitt , John Mayer, Totó la Momposina and Mercedes Sosa.

Marta was also chosen to record Kris Kristofferson’s “The Circle” on a tribute to this great American icon. Marta “lifted that song up to when it’s supposed to be, to where it belongs” According to Kristofferson’s own words. American writer John Sandford made a reference to that version of "the circle" on his novel "Dark of the moon" (2007)

In March 2003, Marta’s song "Paula Ausente" based on the book "Paula" by Isabel Allende, won the The SIBL Project International songwriting contest as the best song inspired by a South American book. The song was included on a CD among others by artists such as Tom Waits and David Bowie."Paula Ausente" was also included on the Putumayo Compilation "Women of the world: Acustic"(2007). Her song “La Ronda” was included before in other Putumayo compilation entitled “Women of Latin America” (2004) and in 2005 Marta was chosen by “Fucsia”, a Colombian magazine as one of the 5 Most representative Colombian women of the year.

With four albums under her belt, her self-released "Solo es vivir" was chosen by The Boston Globe as one of the 10 best albums of 2003 and her "Cantos de Agua Dulce" (2004) released by Chesky Records, was nominated for the Billboard Latin Music Awards as the best Latin Jazz Album of the year among Paco de Lucia’s, Nestor Torres’ and Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s. Her album “Entre Cada Palabra” (2005 chesky records) placed Marta Gómez as “The Best National World-Music Artist of 2006” by the Boston Phoenix

In an interview on the National Public Radio, journalist Steve Inskeep said he admires Marta’s capacity of “turning the bitter history of her native country into sweet music”.
Marta and her group are currently promoting their new album "Musiquita" (Aluna Records 2009).