| Jazz |
Vocalist, songwriter, and poet Gergana Velinova has inspired international audiences with her diverse artistic talents. With a repertoire extending from her own compositions to Duke Ellington, Jobim and Mozart, she is equally comfortable in the world of jazz, gospel, art song and musical theatre. A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, she has lived and performed in the US, Canada and Europe, and shared the stage with Grammy and Juno nominees.
Free is her deeply personal seventh album. It carries a double meaning: it reflects the feeling of freedom that comes when a soaring melody lifts the spirit above the mundane, and at the same time expresses her renewed sense of freedom as she embraces her new life as a Canadian citizen, a milestone she reached in 2025.
The band assembled for this album is remarkable. Gergana Velinova is backed by a fantastic band with Kristian Alexandrov on piano and keys, Joel Fountain on drums, Miles Hills, Mojo Jones and Peter Slavov sharing bass duties, and a few special guests.
Among the notable contributions: the remarkable and talented violinist Cameron Wilson on Come a Little Closer, and the brilliant saxophonist Cory Weeds on Keep Walking. Vince Mai’s muted horn on Orange Moon serves as a rich frame for Velinova’s tones, while Alexandrov takes centre stage on A Song About Stones.
At the heart of this Free project is the artistic reunion with producer Kristian Alexandrov, a platinum-certified multi-instrumentalist and Sofia School of Music alumnus who has known Velinova since their teenage years. Their deep creative trust is at the core of the album’s production, and Alexandrov’s expansive musicianship and production vision elevate the album’s rich textures while preserving the intimacy at its core.
Instrumentally, Free is a well-crafted record, warmly produced, with thoughtful arrangements that draw from a wide stylistic spectrum including contemporary jazz rooted in Velinova’s Bulgarian heritage mixed with jazz, pop, bossa nova and blues.
One reviewer describes her songs as unwinding like a spool of gold thread, glistening in the light and sparkling with her composer skills. The opening title track is described as sounding very Brazilian, with Jon Bentley’s saxophone taking an exquisite solo. The album closes with a duet, Alexandrov on piano and Velinova’s vocals soaring like a wild bird, on Come a Little Closer. The Toronto Sun has called her “the honey-voiced vocalist”. Other commentators have described her tones as “luxuriant, like tendrils of sound comfortably unfurling around you”.
One can see why this album is generating excitement. It is ambitious, richly layered, and clearly the work of a serious musician who has something to say.
But for listeners who value restraint over projection, intimacy over explosive talent, Free can sometimes push too hard. Velinova’s voice is undeniably powerful and technically accomplished, captivating audiences with her warm stage presence and soulful performances.
Velinova has a voice whose volume and register are comparable to that of Beth Hart, Gergana in the jazzy universe and Beth in the rock universe, both with this vocal luminosity which makes all the difference with so many singers.
And the question worth asking is: does every emotion on this album need to be announced at full volume?
Jazz vocal tradition is also built on the beauty of withholding, the half-whispered phrase, the note that barely arrives before it disappears, the silence that says more than the sound. Think of the quiet devastation in Norah Jones’s early recordings, the feathery restraint of Stacey Kent, the sensual understatement of Diana Krall at the piano, or the luminous control of Cassandra Wilson at her most introspective. These are singers who understand that the space around a note can be as expressive as the note itself.
Even one of the album’s more sympathetic reviewers notes that “she can write the blues, but this vocalist is no blues singer”, an observation that points, gently, to the limits of range when technique outpaces feeling. There are moments on Free where the listener might wish for less voice and more mystery: where Orange Moon might have floated rather than shone, where Come a Little Closer might have whispered rather than soared.
None of this diminishes the craft. Velinova has an innocence to her tone, and the subject matter is positive and full of love. The sincerity is never in doubt. But sincerity delivered at high volume can, paradoxically, feel less intimate than a quietly murmured confidence.
Free is a polished, well-intentioned and musically accomplished album from a singer with genuine talent, a long track record, and a moving personal story behind this recording. The ensemble is excellent, the production warm, and the songwriting solid throughout.
If you want energy, range and emotional declaration, Gergana Velinova delivers in abundance. If you prefer the kind of singing that draws you in by letting go, that trades force for fragility, volume for vulnerability, you may find Free a little too eager to impress, and not quite free enough to simply be. A beautiful record for some. A somewhat breathless one for others.
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, May 29th, 2026
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Musicians:
Gergana Velinova – vocals
Kristian Alexandrov – piano, Rhodes, B3, vibes & percussion
Joel Fountain – drums
Peter Slavov, Miles Hill and Mojo Jones – bass
Cory Weeds, Jon Bentley, Ryan Oliver – saxophone
Vince Mai, Malcolm Aiken – trumpet
Shannon Gaye and Gord Maxwell – backing vocals