Jazz Articles about Giacomo Gates

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For the Vocalists

by Monk Rowe
March 20, 2026

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Giacomo Gates with the Jimmy Masters Trio at the Sandler Center for the Arts

by Mark Robbins
June 6, 2024

Giacomo Gates sings in a calm baritone, delivering songs easily, but there's more to just singing a song. Mixing the lyrics with vocalese, singing his lyrics to otherwise instrumental improvised parts, Gates tells a story full of emotion that can be seen on his face and heard in his voice. Closing your eyes and listening to Gates takes you back to a 1950s jazz club where the hip snapped their fingers and cigarette smoke clouded the room. Gates' own words ...

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Giacomo Gates: YOU

by Nicholas F. Mondello
March 5, 2022

It is an interesting linguistic and grammatical fact that the word “I," capitalized and without its lower case pal's head-dot, appears only in the English language. It is also the most frequently seen word residing in popular song titles. With You the high priest of hip, Giacomo Gates, turns the tables on that not-so-lonely letter and salutes I's near-runner up, “You" with a “book" of 18 genuinely swinging “Yous." As a jazz singer, Gates has historically been ...

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Giacomo Gates: G8S

by Nicholas F. Mondello
November 11, 2018

2018 worldwide news reports have detailed all sorts of technologically-assisted archaeological finds. In the US, a previously unreleased John Coltrane album and other musical discoveries have popped up. And--whaddya know?--here is an unreleased and enhanced set of tracks from the Hipster to the Hip, Giacomo Gates. And it is a helluva find, you dig? G8S, originally laid down in 2005, is a short-form release of four tunes performed by Gates and a hip vibes and rhythm quartet. ...

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Giacomo Gates: What Time Is It?

by Nicholas F. Mondello
June 10, 2017

2:02.75. That might have been what longshot “Giacomo" (at 50-1) took to win the Kentucky Derby back in 2005. However, it will take longer--just short of an hour--to realize that this thoroughbred Giacomo rides home a winner with What Time Is It?. Hold the oats and roses and grab the ear buds. Giacomo Gates, the consummate Hipster's Hipster, carries the Bop-Scat-Vocalese torch superbly here--one carried previously by greats Babs Gonzales, King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson, Oscar Brown, Jr. ...

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Giacomo Gates: What Time Is It?

by Jack Bowers
June 6, 2017

What is it that separates a “jazz singer" from the wannabes? While many people are known as or call themselves jazz singers, only a handful truly merit the name. Giacomo Gates, whose latest album What Time Is It? is his seventh (and fourth for Savant Records), is one of the chosen few. Why? Well, as the saying goes, if you have to ask . . . The fact is, Gates has a pleasant baritone voice but not ...

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Giacomo Gates: Everything Is Cool

by Nicholas F. Mondello
August 28, 2015

Federal regulations require food and beverage manufacturers to provide “Nutrition Facts" on all package labels. They want you to know what you're digging into. Now, if recordings had that same requirement, Everything Is Cool from Giacomo Gates might read this way: “Ingredients: 100% genuine talent and devotion to the true art of jazz vocalizing. All natural and swinging ingredients. No artificial jive, smooth jazz, or ju-ju. Organic, filled with mojo, and very much the Real Deal, Baby!" ...