Christina Galisatus - Without Night (2023)

Music, and more specifically, the composition of music, has been in Christina Galisatus’ blood for as long as she can remember. Her father is a trumpet player and music educator, and starting as a five year old, Galisatus began learning to play the piano, though she explored improvisation and composition at the same time that she was learning to play the instrument. Led by a desire to play in larger groups, Christina later studied French horn and had the opportunity to tour internationally performing in symphony orchestras at a young age. From there, she went on to study jazz piano performance and composition at Stanford University. While her most recent compositions have a sound that draws from a rich folk tradition and singer-songwriters adjacent to that world, they are built upon these foundations she has been exploring since she was a kindergartner who found music to be the best way to express herself.

Even for a brilliant performer and songwriter, the obstacles and roadblocks for any female musician, let alone one who plays in the jazz world, have worn on her. On her debut album Without Night she shrugs away the expectations of others and has created a masterpiece in her own image. The only way this album could exist was for Christina to approach it on her own terms, as an artist willing to break with convention to make an album that was less about chops and technical skill than an ability to translate deeply felt emotions into songs that feel simultaneously familiar and deeply innovative.

Above all, Galisatus wants her songs to be a reflection of what she loves in music. “The music that I've always been drawn to, whether it's listening to music or performing and composing, has always been music that just feels beautiful to me,” she explains. “All of the music that I have been writing recently, both as part of my debut album and since then, came during and shortly after realizing that I don't have to adhere to anyone else’s vision.” It was a significant hurdle that Christina had to leap over, and once she finally made that jump, her music has undergone a definitive transformation towards something that feels completely true to her. “I need to honor what I find honest,” she adds with the confidence of an artist that has found their voice.