“I wanted to make an album for Christmas but I wanted the music to be different from any other music you might hear at this time of the year, I wanted it to touch the heartstrings whatever your religious or philosophical beliefs. I think there are many people who believe it is possible for the world to unite and they have opened up their hearts and their minds to that,” that is how Gergana Velinova (better known overseas as Ana Velinova) presents her new album December Wishing released in USA at the end of November. After spending three weeks in the prestigious CMJ US Radio Jazz Charts, it is now No. 7 in the jazz category. This is an outstanding success, knowing that the album is swimming in an ocean of good music and magnificent performers from all corners of the planet.

Gergana is a jazz singer-songwriter and author of the lyrics of most of the songs in her repertoire. She says of herself: “I am happy there is music running in my veins.” Some time ago we presented her previous album The Thief which was also a success with the public and with critics. December Wishing is the fourth album in the discography of the talented Bulgarian musician.

“December Wishing was the first song I wrote,” says Gergana. “Sitting in a reverie last December, I took a walk down memory lane, back to the way I had spent my holiday seasons so far away from Bulgaria, from my parents. And I realized just how happy I was – it was the first Christmas I was spending with my husband (I got married last year). A wave of gratitude swept over me, gratitude that I was with the man I love and these feelings flowed into the music and the lyrics of this song. And one by one the other songs came into being. There are two pieces by other composers but the arrangements are mine. The musicians we recorded with were magnificent – all three of them are from Seattle. I was really honoured that Marc Seales, a renowned jazz pianist and university lecturer agreed to perform with me. He brought the other musicians together - Jeff Johnson - bass, and Byron Vannoy – drums. There is one song I included that is familiar to listeners as a Manhattan Transfer song. I discovered it while I was still conducting and lecturing at Victoria Conservatory of Music, Vancouver. I did my own arrangement and the instrumentalists liked it very much. They very much appreciate the fact I write my own music. We have already had several concerts with this programme.”

“I am thrilled to see my name alongside the names of great musicians like Chick Korea. I got a call from the organizers of the chart yesterday to tell me that this was the only album of Christmas music in it,” Gergana says and adds:

“We each have a different understanding of what success is. With me, everything is hard work and patience, at times it is very harrowing. I am so glad and so proud of the resonance my music has been having. I have always been guided by one rule – to look to the future and to do good things wherever I may find myself. What I have learnt in Bulgaria has helped me a great deal.  I was only 10 when I was soloist of the children’s vocal group Pim Pam, we toured Europe and had concerts across Bulgaria. Then I was backing vocalist to Donny and Momchil, the bands Tangra and the FSB. I was a teenager but sometimes we would sing to a huge audience. Especially with the FSB – we performed to an audience of half a million during the protests in 1989. What these renowned singers taught me was to have a mind of my own and to aim high. The experience I accumulated with them has helped me a lot, even in New York. We aren’t musicians because we want to be rich and famous but because that is where my heart lies. Talent is like the medicinal water that flows so abundantly in Bulgaria. Whether in a crack in the pavement or in some meadow, no one can stop the water from flowing. That it how it has always been with me – in music and in poetry. I am grateful for every surge of inspiration and I treasure it. That is how things have turned out for me – to have been born an artiste. I hope in these times of world crisis music will bring peace and light. I would be happy if people would continue to listen to my album in the years to come, if it found a place in people’s homes.”

The audio file features the following tracks from December Wishing:

-  I’ve got my love to keep me;

-  December wishing;

-  Find someone to love.

English: Milena Daynova