Alexandra Gerhard-García

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Alexandra Gerhard-García (born October 8, 1974 in Cologne ) is a German- Venezuelan drummer , percussionist and composer .

The first years

Alexandra Gerhard-García was born and raised in Cologne, but has her roots in both Caribbean Venezuela and Germany. Gerhard-García was already in close contact with music from the very beginning through her father Wolfgang Gerhard , himself a successful music producer and flamenco guitarist, best known for his “Jazz Meets Flamenco” record. Gerhard-García first played guitar and piano, but then discovered her passion for drums. At the age of 12 she started taking her first drum lessons. Your teacher was not primarily a drummer, but a keyboard player.

Professional career

Despite her passion for music, Gerhard-García initially planned a career as a doctor. But shortly before graduating from high school, she decided to become a professional musician. Gerhard-García began to study musicology at the University of Cologne , she also appeared as a drummer and as a choir singer. In 1997, Gerhard-García's drum career experienced a setback due to a motorcycle accident, but during rehabilitation she found back to her strength and to playing the drums. She broke off her studies in musicology and enrolled in courses at the Drummers Institute in Düsseldorf. She later moved to New York City, USA to continue her education at the Drummers Collective. Since then, Gerhard-García has worked with various musicians such as Maipú, Simple Life, Alex Oriental Experience , Sigo Lorfeo , Loona , Brasilexa, Eli Goulart, Ana Bonfim and Valdeci Oliveira.

Just one year after her accident, Gerhard-García released her first album "Eternal" (Canastero label) in 1998 with 8 Latin-inspired jazz pieces. Unusual for many albums, the drummer Gerhard-García is the main focus. Eternal received great praise from the “Drum! Magazine ”, which Gerhard-García presented in her“ New Blood ”column.

Garcia Orchestra

In 2000 Gerhard-García founded her own band, the Garcia Orchestra. The line-up consisted of the musicians Jost Edelhoff on the electric guitar, Andrey Muratov on the keyboards, Achim Schröter on the saxophone and Christoph Wolff on the electric bass. In the same year Gerhard-García and her band recorded the album "Crossroads", which combined jazz and rock fusion with Latin and funk influences. In contrast to Eternal, Gerhard-García composed all of the music for this album. Crossroads was released in 2001 under the band name of the Garcia Orchestra, again under the Canastero label.

In addition to their work in the studio, the Garcia Orchestra has played at various jazz festivals, such as the 12th Jazznacht Hürth, the Düsseldorf Jazz Rally , the Hessenjazz Festival Idstein and also at the Ingolstadt Citizens' Meeting . In addition to her work as a percussionist and music composer, Gerhard-García also had her own music school, where she gave drum lessons until July 2012.

Second career

Although still active in the music business, Gerhard-García decided to pursue a second career as a doctor. She completed her studies at the University of Cologne in June 2012 with a subsequent doctorate in November 2012. Then she completed her advanced training in internal medicine with a specialization as a cardiologist .


Discography

  • Alexandra Gerhard-Garcia "Eternal" Canastero Music
  • Garcia Orchestra "Crossroads" Canastero Music
  • Garcia Orchestra / Various "Hessenjazz Festival, Vol.5" VMP
  • Marguay "Three Sins" /

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jazz meets flamenco . The album was nominated for the German Record Award in the Jazz category.
  2. ↑ artist-direct
  3. ↑ Practice of Prof. Dr. Leischik
personal data
SURNAME Gerhard-García, Alexandra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gerhard García, Alexandra
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Venezuelan drummer and doctor
DATE OF BIRTH October 8, 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne