I’m a big fan of piano blues, boogie woogie, and just about anything that happens on a keyboard. With that in mind, a friend (Paul, you know who you are!) recently sent me a link to a video of Ladyva, or Vanessa Sabrina Gnaegi, and I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of her.
In my defense, she was born in Switzerland, and has performed mostly in Europe, and usually under the name Ladyva. Sometimes Vanessa G. But still. I guess I just don’t get around much anymore.
She plays rollicking boogie woogie piano, both solo and in a combo. She sometimes sings. She always seems to be having a great time.
Her last album “8 to the Bar,” was released in 2017, and she released a video single in May called “Ladyva’s Stomp” (watch it blelow).
Her bio will tell you that she started to play piano when she was 14, “inspired by the music of the great masters of boogie woogie.” I’d love to know which ones, and how she learned, without the benefit honky-tonk saloons or smoke-crusted blues bars. Or maybe, like many American blues artists, she just heard the music and loved it enough to learn it.
So I’m hoping you’ll check the videos below, give her albums a listen where you can find them, and maybe enjoy her music as much as I do.
Here’s her latest video:
She sings:
