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Gretchen Parlato at The Jazz Standard
The New Year was dramatically ushered in at the Jazz Standard on January 2nd when Gretchen Parlato and her band wowed an SRO audience with some of the most prescient music of the season. No vocalist of recent vintage has garnered more acclaim than the brilliant chanteuse, transplanted from L.A. to Gotham awhile back. Grammy nominations, critical commendation from writers and musicians ("A singer with a deep, almost magical connection to the music." --Herbie Hancock, “There's no one out there ...
read moreArt of Cool Jazz Festival: Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton
Art of Cool Jazz Festival Gretchen Parlato and Alan Hampton PSI Theater Durham, NC April 25, 2015 It was a cool, whistful, and breezy Saturday evening. Sounds of improvisation and ingenuity seeped out of the edifices of multiple, cozy and packed venues---and into the air of the night. It was the final night of The Art of Cool Jazz Festival and one of several closing acts featured Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato and ...
read moreGretchen Parlato: Live in NYC
In the ever-growing crowd of jazz vocalists, Gretchen Parlato increasingly stands out for her unique sound and musicality. She has been criticized by those who think she should sing “bigger," move around more, and open her eyes when she performs. But she has held to her own meditative style, which includes encouraging her bands to have spontaneous, passionate, and personally-expressive conversations, rather than being obedient supporters that she unilaterally “leads." This is all very evident on Live in NYC, which ...
read moreGretchen Parlato: Live in NYC
Live in NYC is vocalist Gretchen Parlato's eagerly awaited live recording and follow-up to 2011's excellent The Lost And Found (Obliqsound). Gretchen Parlato (Obliqsound, 2006) and 2011's In A Dream (Obliqsound) round out her catalog as a leader. That said, Parlato has been much more busy than would be indicated by her four recordings in eight years. She has appeared on some 70-plus recordings from Kenny Barron's The Traveler (Emarcy, 2006) to Esperanza Spalding's Esperanza (Concord Music Group, 2008) to ...
read moreGretchen Parlato: The Lost and Found
Gretchen Parlato is emerging as the most important jazz singer since Cassandra Wilson. Her vocal approach is so unique and her repertoire so eclectic that she stands to create a jazz vocal genre unto herself. After placing first in the 2004 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, Parlato released her eponymous debut, self-produced, in 2005. Warmly received, she followed her freshman effort up in 2009 with In a Dream (Obliqsound), her critical gravity growing. And those are ...
read moreGretchen Parlato: Quiet Revolutionary
It's safe to say that singer Gretchen Parlato has her admirers. The Boston Globe praised her as “the most original jazz singer in a generation," and pianist Herbie Hancock has described her connection to music as “almost magical." Saxophonist Wayne Shorter has likened her art to that of Frank Sinatra. It's hard to remember the last time a jazz singer has created such a stir and excited such high praise. The growing chorus of admirers is not without good reason; ...
read moreGretchen Parlato: Norwich, UK, May 20, 2011
Gretchen ParlatoThe PlayhouseNorwich, UKMay 20, 2011 Gretchen Parlato has achieved something that is increasingly difficult in contemporary jazz, where originality and innovation seem too often to be viewed as barriers to a vocalist's success, rather than qualities to be praised and nurtured. She has merged her distinctive vocal style with an intriguing selection of material to create a sound that is unique and utterly compelling. Parlato's first British appearance outside London, courtesy of the Norfolk ...
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