by Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Classical Voice, 10/10/23
"Gretchen Parlato has distilled her sound down to a silvery essence, an approach deeply informed by the Brazilian songbook. She performed at Monterey with Benin-born guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, a creative confidante since they were graduate students at the exclusive Thelonious Monk Institute for Jazz in Los Angeles two decades ago. The L.A.-based Parlato heads back north this week with Loueke for duo performances on Oct. 13 at San Jose’s Hammer Theatre Center (part of the Black Cab Jazz series), on Oct. 14at The Studio for Stanford Live, and on Oct. 15 at Miner Auditorium.
At 47, Parlato is a mid-career master whose emergence in the early aughts changed the course of jazz vocals, via her own recordings and through her ubiquitous presence on projects by her peers, elders, and younger artists, including Esperanza Spalding’s breakthrough albums Chamber Music Society and Radio Music Society (from 2010 and 2012, respectively).
“She’s shaped a generation,” said singer Sara Gazarek, 41, who was studying at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music when Parlato was at the Monk Institute. “There are so many young vocalists who’ve adopted her intimate, quiet, sensual approach to singing, which is not performative but still commanding. I love the music she’s making. It feels like her soul.”