Jazz Articles about Giacomo Gates

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Giacomo Gates: Centerpiece

by Elliott Simon
October 2, 2004

A product of vocally imitating complex bop solos, vocalese grew into a respectable singular art form under its most famous practitioners, King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson. On the swinging Centerpiece , Giacomo Gates uses these two giants as touchstones and makes the genre his own. In addition to his deep, rich tonal quality, Gates' impressive vocal arsenal includes whistling, scat and mood-inducing intros. He uses these talents to lead us through a delightfully varied program consisting of ballads, ...

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Giacomo Gates: Centerpiece

by Jim Santella
August 3, 2004

His rich baritone voice, accurate musical ear and comfortable seamless phrasing make Giacomo Gates a singer with appeal, and his personal interpretation of lyrics gives his audience a convincing lesson. But there's a special twist to this performance. Gates has been bitten by the hipster bug. His passion for the vocalese of King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks is woven through each track.

His policy does not take Gates a step back in time. Instead, he and ...

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Giacomo Gates: Fly Rite

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 2002

The top tunes on this recording, personally speaking, are “Girl Talk" and Spinnin' (Speedball). Gates seems to recite the lyric at times rather than singing them. In his vocalese bag, however, he is in his element and swings mightily. On 'Girl Talk" David Hazeltine's Piano work is cooly displayed and Jim Rotondi's Floogie solo is noteworthy. Gates trips along nicely and gets the whole thing off the ground. Lee Morgan's 'Spinnin' (Speedball), with Giacomo Gates' lyrics is the hippest tune ...