Brettina
Encyclopedia
Brettina Robinson is generally known by her stage name
Brettina. She is a Bahamian
jazz
singer-songwriter
, model, and SAG
actress, but now lives in metropolitan Los Angeles. She began singing at age four, under the influence of her gospel-singer
mother Leona Coakley Spring and musician uncles Theo and Kirk Coakley of T-Connection
. She was raised by a single mother, moved to the US as a toddler, returned to the Bahamas during her school years, and moved back to the US on a university scholarship
.
She released her debut album Brettina in March 2010.
She returned to the Bahamas in her pre-teen years, and attended C.I. Gibson School. There she was awarded the title "Miss C.I. Gibson", which made her eligible for Miss Teen Bahamas, where she won the title "Miss Talented Teen", and earned a university scholarship
. She attended the University of Washington
.
In addition to her jazz career, she has worked as a print model and an actress in national advertisements. As a singer, she has performed mainly in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas.
She gave her age as "30s" in 2010. She has never been married.
She has performed in public on several occasions, for example:
, Shirley Horn
, Shirley Bassey
, Sade
, Adele
, and LIRA
. She sings jazz, and describes her style as "organic".
She draws from personal experience in her songwriting. For example, she cites her poor childhood as the inspiration for her song "Poor Old Times", her fondness for chai as the inspiration for "Chai", and childhood memories as the inspiration for covering the Belafonte
-Burgess
song "Island in the Sun
".
Music videos
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Brettina. She is a Bahamian
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, model, and SAG
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
actress, but now lives in metropolitan Los Angeles. She began singing at age four, under the influence of her gospel-singer
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
mother Leona Coakley Spring and musician uncles Theo and Kirk Coakley of T-Connection
T-Connection
T-Connection was a funk and disco group from Nassau, the Bahamas, who scored two hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1977 and 1979. They did better on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where they had five Top 10 hits, including "Do What You Wanna Do", which reached #1, and "Everything Is...
. She was raised by a single mother, moved to the US as a toddler, returned to the Bahamas during her school years, and moved back to the US on a university scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
.
She released her debut album Brettina in March 2010.
Life and career
Brettina was born in Nassau, the Bahamas. In early childhood her single mother moved her family to the Chicago. Through much of her childhood her family was very poor, but her mother shielded her and her brothers from awareness of their poverty.She returned to the Bahamas in her pre-teen years, and attended C.I. Gibson School. There she was awarded the title "Miss C.I. Gibson", which made her eligible for Miss Teen Bahamas, where she won the title "Miss Talented Teen", and earned a university scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. She attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
In addition to her jazz career, she has worked as a print model and an actress in national advertisements. As a singer, she has performed mainly in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas.
She gave her age as "30s" in 2010. She has never been married.
She has performed in public on several occasions, for example:
- At her CD release party (publicity appearance, but not a performance)
- At the Supermodel of the Bahamas show, with Bahamian RnB singer Julien
- At her "New Face of Jazz" concert
- At her January 26, 2011 "Up Close & Unplugged" concert
- Her talent agency has announced a "New Face of Jazz World Tour".
Musical style
Brettina cites as her main influences Nancy Wilson, Sarah VaughanSarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Shirley Horn
Shirley Horn
Shirley Valerie Horn was an American jazz singer and pianist.-Biography:Encouraged by her grandmother, who was an amateur organist, Horn began piano lessons at the age of four. At twelve, Horn studied piano and composition at Howard University and later majored from there in classical music...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, and LIRA
Lira
Lira is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City and Israel. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire...
. She sings jazz, and describes her style as "organic".
She draws from personal experience in her songwriting. For example, she cites her poor childhood as the inspiration for her song "Poor Old Times", her fondness for chai as the inspiration for "Chai", and childhood memories as the inspiration for covering the Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
-Burgess
Lord Burgess
Irving Louis Burgie, better known as Lord Burgess, is a songwriter, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1926, or possibly on July 28, 1924. His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia....
song "Island in the Sun
Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean
Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean is an album by Harry Belafonte, released by RCA Victor in 1957.-Track listing:#"Scratch, Scratch" – 2:39#"Lucy's Door" – 3:43...
".
Awards
- Brettina won the title Miss C.I. Gibson, which made her eligible for Miss Talented Teen Bahamas.
- Brettina won the Hal JacksonHal JacksonHarold Baron Jackson is an American disk jockey and radio personality who broke a number of color barriers in American radio broadcasting.-Early years:Jackson was born in Charleston, South Carolina and grew up in Washington, D.C...
Miss Talented Teen Bahamas and was awarded a scholarship.
Critical Acclaim
Brettina has been praised by a variety of critics, for example:- All About Jazz, "Brettina"
- Jazz Wax, "Brettina: New Sound of Jazz"
- Bohemian Soul, untitled article.
Philanthropy
Brettina supports several charitable causes, most visibly a donation in support of C.I. Gibson School, which she attended. She also supports All Saints Camp,with her mother..a shelter for people suffering from HIV/AIDS.Discography
Studio album- Brettina (2010)
- "Paradise"
- "Bahamian Girl"
- "The Bug"
- "Serafina"
- "Poor Old Times"
- "Chai"
- "My Time to Shine"
- "Pardon the Storm"
- "Island in the Sun"
- "One"
- "Serafina" (bonus track with strings)
Music videos
- "Bahamian Girl" (pending video)