Karyna Gomes is a singer and composer from Guinea Bissau. Her passion for music comes from early age due to the fact that she grew up surrounded by musicians in Guinea-Bissau, listening to traditional and urban music of her country and also the rhythms from around the world.
Daughter of a revolutionary Guinean father and Cape-Verdean mother, she was born in Bissau, a small and harmonious city in West Africa. She considers that her musical roots came from the backyard family celebrations, typical in Métis societies in the Southern Hemisphere. She is clearly influenced by living in three continents - Africa, America and Europe, particularly Cuba.
“After independence when I was born, there were many Cubans in Guinea-Bissau who shared their music. I had uncles who studied in Cuba and who brought back music from there, so I was influenced by what you call Latin music,” she says.
She started her career singing gospel as a student in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where she lived for five years while studying journalism. After returning to her country in 2007, Karyna was invited to sing in the historical and revolutionary group "Super Mama Djombo" and participated in their last album, recording in the same year in ‘Sigùr Rós’ Studio in Iceland. She toured with the group around the world, and after that started her solo career.
She now lives in Portugal where in 2014 she released her debut solo album 'Mindjer' which means 'woman'. It has received excellent critics from the Portuguese press since the release.
Gomes’ trumpet player is the talented Jéssica Pina. “I did not choose the trumpet, the trumpet chose me because I was trying different instruments and I could only play the trumpet,” says Pina, who started playing the trumpet at the age of 8.
At the age of 15, she played a solo piece for trumpet in philharmonic for the first time. Jessica has mastered improvisation and she is a true virtuoso of her instrument.
In combination with Karyna's soft timbre, Jessica's trumpet party gives a completely new dimension to the groovy and soothing rhythms of the rest of the band.