Jessica Gall is not the type to be found in Berlin’s more trendy neighbourhoods. Born into a musical family, the young woman has decided to follow a different path. Just turned thirty, Jessica is the mother of two children as well as working as a professional singer. Her daytoday life is multifaceted, downtoearth and modern. She is a real Berliner, born in 1980 in the Friedrichshain district.
At the age of 6, she receives her first piano lessons from her grandma. Appearances at her father’s shows follow. Jessica Gall looks back on her family history: “I made my first vocal recordings for the family (Gospel) choir at my dad’s studio at the age of 7 or 8.” In 1992, she is given a saxophone and meets Jiggs Whigham at one of the RIAS Big Band workshops. Jiggs encourages her to put the work in to become a professional. Though his advice always stays with her, it is the voice that turns out to be her instrument. In 2001, after having formed several bands and dropping out of school before her ALevels, Jessica Gall starts studying music at the Hans Eisler Academy of Music, the alma mater of both her grandma in the 1950s and later her father. Jessica Gall fondly remembers the words of her grandmother urging her to find her own way in music. “I didn’t really have a choice. During breakfast my parents, who are singers themselves, inundated me with records by Marvin Gaye and Aretha. The only way forward was for me to find my own sound.”
After having taken time off to look after her new baby, Jessica Gall and her musicians ecently finished the Little Big Soul album, the followup to her debut album Just Like You which was released by Sony Deutschland. The press called Just Like You a “strong, confident, expressive debut album – twelve soulful songs” (SZ, April 08) and described the singer as “timeless, elegant, individual” (BNN, April 09).
