Who of us hasn’t dreamt of being on stage with Rod Stewart and performing a song?
Gina Brese, singer, saxophonist and songwriter from Düsseldorf, Germany has already experienced this dream back in 2015. On November 28th, boxing legend and Heavyweight World Champion Vladimir Klitschko defended his world title against Tyson Fury at the Düsseldorf arena. The Ukrainian’s title defense went badly, Fury won the fight sensationally and completely unexpectedly on points. So far so good.
The organizer spared no expense or effort for the supporting program and hired superstar Rod Stewart, among others for a performance. Since Rod didn’t have his entire band with him that evening, local musicians were hired for the performance. One of them was – you guessed it – Gina Brese.
Gina now exclusively tells SMILER her story:
It all started with an email in Gina’s inbox a few weeks before the show. Quite mysteriously, the question was asked whether she would be interested in playing at a big event as a saxophonist. After all, she was told that she would perform with a male superstar. When Gina found out that this superstar was Rod Stewart, she immediately accepted. Honestly, which of you would not have accepted immediately?
The first contact was on the day of the show at the rehearsal. “The sound check was carried out very professionally. Since it was a live broadcast, everything had to be rehearsed, of course,” Gina tells SMILER.
“Only afterwards in the catacombs, there was time for a little chat. Rod just wanted to know if I was doing okay and if I was nervous about the gig. He wished us all the best of luck too” remembers the Düsseldorf resident.
When the performance came up, a very special atmosphere emerged. “It was phenomenal. when we walked through the catacombs and then through the arena, past the people who were screaming and shaking the fences and then to the stage! It was truly sensational.”
During the performance itself, Gina was calm. “I have played in front of large audiences several times, e.g. in the Barclay Card Arena in Hamburg. I’m not nervous about that, I get absorbed in my music and fade out almost everything else around me. When we start it just ‘clicks’ for me and there is only the music. I then only focus on the moment.”
Gina’s love of music began in 2005 with her favourite instrument, the saxophone. In the interview with SMILER, she recalls: “When I was little, I watched a DVD of a Tina Turner concert with my mother and I liked the saxophonist so much and the way he played the instrument. From then on it was clear to me that I also wanted to play the saxophone.”
A few years later Gina enrolled at a music school to learn to play the saxophone. “It might sound strange, but I was able to play well from the first moment on. Later I also took singing lessons. For me, vocals and saxophone go together like a fist in the eye.”
Her career as a singer, saxophonist and songwriter was thus predetermined. The musical interplay between vocals and saxophone has become something like the trademark of the aspiring musician. “That’s what I want to focus on. I want to sing pop hits. All of that with a saxophone background.“ Brese has a clear idea of where her career should go.
She can also be seen live regularly and appears at business or private events. Then she shines with her own compositions and also plays covers. “Sure, I really enjoy playing covers, although there are some songs that you can’t cover. One song that I always like to cover when I play is Sailing, my absolute Rod favourite. Speaking of Rod Stewart again (laughs), I even have one of his albums at home. My parents gave it to me for my birthday.”
In general, Gina is well up to date when it comes to Rod: “I know he released a new album recently, Tears of Hercules. I’ve listened to it and I like it very much. But before I can really listen to the new Stewart album in peace, it will be a while because I’m currently working on a new song that should be released on January 7th”. My own creativity takes precedence in this case.”
So far Gina has released two songs of her own,’Sei still und tanze (Be quiet and dance/2020)’ and ‘Fühl Dich frei (Feel free/2021)’. A first album is also planned. Gina said: “But I have to wait and see how the pandemic develops so I can get all the work under one roof.” Keyword pandemic. This troubles the young artist in so far as she cannot perform live at the moment. “Due to the current Corona situation, I cannot currently plan any appearances. The only fact is that all planned shows for January have already been canceled. And at the moment, I can’t say how things will go on.”
For more information on Gina go to:
Gina Brese website: https://www.gina-brese.de/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaxophonistinGinaBrese
Instagram: https: https://www.instagram.com/gina.brese/
Text: Martin Heidt for SMILER – The Rod Stewart FanClub