Passionate about the art of vocalese? A brief profile of maestro Giacomo Gates
In the crowded landscape of jazz vocals, there are few like Giacomo Gates. Hailing from Bridgeport Connecticut, and later moving to Alaska for construction work the baritone singer has delighted audiences through his absolute mastery of the art of vocalese. While he sings pieces from the popular jazz canon he really sought to tackle serious jazz compositions such as “Epistrophy”, and “Milestones” explicitly demonstrating that vocalists are on par with horn players. Frequently the singer engages with his band in thrilling dialogues as any number of instruments including trumpet and bass, bringing to mind such past greats as Ella Fitzgerald, and his major influences Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks. Making his debut not until the age of 40 Gates was raised in a household of music– his father was an amateur violinist, played classical music and big band music often. While studying as a young guitarist, Dave Brubeck’s classic Time Out (Columbia, 1959) fascinated him, and he then got turned onto Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Lambert Hendricks and Ross and Dexter Gordon. Though he loves music across the entire spectrum including James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and the Four Tops, jazz always grabbed his attention. His 2011 Savant records debut The Revolution Will Be Jazz: Giacomo Gates Sings The Music of Gil Scott Heron is one of the most important releases of his career as the vocalist was able to utterly transform such iconic material in the way only Gates can. He is the torch bearer for passing on the nuances vocalese to new generations, particularly since the passing of the late great Jon Hendricks.
His impeccable swing and rhythmic sense has allowed him to climb to the top of the pack of male vocalists, where he has a deep interest in exploring classic jazz repertoire especially from the bebop era. In a 2017 interview, Gates remarked that he wasn’t interested in singing tunes like “My Funny Valentine” because for him Chet Baker’s version was definitive, instead wanting to see what he could do with material like Monk’s “Epistrophy” as an example. Telling a tale spiced with his signature sharp humor he explained that during the sessions for Fly Rite (Sharp Nine, 1998) his second date as a leader, the drummer for the album, the great Ben Riley (who replaced Frankie Dunlop in the Thelonious Monk Quartet) was so impressed that a vocalist would handle tunes typically the domain of instrumentalists. Further, Gates is a strong believer in the apprenticeship system, where band members truly learn on the job, cutting their teeth on the language of jazz in a way that is truly unique. He will extol these virtues during his masterclass, which will include topics like the history of vocalese, breathing, picking the right keys, telling a story through lyrics and performance and many other topics. For those who wish to go beyond this class, the New York Jazz Workshop offers vocal oriented courses for beginner, intermediate and advanced students with a world class faculty including Jocelyn Medina, Fay Victor and Olivia Foschi.
Mr. Gates’ masterclass is on May 19th.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.