She released her debut album, Wanting, in 1998 and has worked with the likes of Grover Washington Jr. and Celia Cruz in the past few years. Gabriela’s innate ability to fuse styles and sounds came through on a few independent demo tracks she had made on the cheap and sent to the record labels’ general addresses listed on the New York Yellow Pages. To that end, Gabriela went on to become one of the only artists ever signed to the Warner Music Group from unsolicited material.

From Vogue and People Magazine to the New Yorker, critics have praised Gabriela as “one of the most distinctive new voices to hit the music scene in years.”

Put the cozy and velvety voice of Billie Holiday together with the nostalgic sound of the bandoneon and you are a step closer to what Last Tango in Rio sounds like. From Gabriela’s soulful voice and the classical guitar arrangements to the subtle beat of the bass, this album brings out the unexpected versatility of jazz in the most sincere way.

Born into a family of musicians in Buenos Aires, Gabriela began her musical journey at an early age. She studied classical guitar and piano while listening closely to her father, jazz saxophonist Jorge Anders. “There were so many influences when I was growing up, and I wanted to do something with them all. My father’s concerts and studio work certainly affected me, as did tango and the music of Brazil,” says Gabriela. “[They] are so harmonically rich”.

And in Last Tango in Rio, Gabriela uses that Latin American sensibility as she covers such classics of American jazz as “God Bless the Child,” “All of Me,” and “You Go to My Head”. “‘Gold Bless the Child’ is such a touching song to me and to just about everyone who has heard Billie (Holiday) perform it,” says Gabriela. “Billie’s work has meant so much to me and it has been a dream of mine to take these songs and spin them in my own way.”

So, why Last Tango in “Rio” and not in Buenos Aires (as one would expect)? “Because I wanted to put an end to this historic soccer-related animosity between Argentina and Brazil,” adds Gabriela. “I put tango next to the Brazilian guitars like a marriage. I wanted to unite the people musically.”