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Dec 2 2022
photo: lauren desberg
"Gretchen Parlato is a singer-arranger of consummate control and slow-burning intensity... lives at the crossroads of sensuous and spiritual, singing from deep within hypnotic grooves with enormous rhythmic sophistication."
— Allen Morrison, Downbeat Magazine
news
performance reviews
Gretchen Parlato spellbinding at Ronnie Scott’s - by Peter Jones, Jazzwise, Oct 14, 2022
The Grammy-nominated singer dazzles with a sophisticated set of intimate and intricate songs at Ronnie Scott’s
Parlato goes beyond mere intimacy in her singing: I would call it interior, as if we are being invited to share her innermost thoughts. As with Blossom Dearie, wistfulness is her default setting. She doesn’t really do standards; it’s more about flow than structure. Much of the set consisted of her own compositions or reworked songs from outside jazz. »» read article
Gretchen Parlato, Ronnie Scott’s, Tuesday 11th October - mike collins, jazzyblogman
A pause for breath and a moment of silence in the middle of Ugly Beauty seemed like the magical sweet spot of this gig. It had been heading there from the start of the early set at Ronnie’s. Gretchen Parlato, mic in hand, and Gerald Clayton at the piano were alone on the stage and the magic had descended. Clayton seems to find the purest essence in everything he plays and to express it with an economy and elegance that is breathtaking. He had distilled a harmonic shift from Monk’s ballad, rendered it in angular almost classical arpeggios as an intro, and then Parlato’s almost-not-there gossamer vocal traced the unmistakable melody, laden with introspective melancholy, sighing the lyric. »» read article
Gretchen Parlato Plants Her Garden at Black Cat —SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE
Listening to her can feel like eavesdropping on an intimate conversation, exposed and vulnerable. A bandleader comfortable with freedom and a singer who doesn’t need a net, Parlato is at her best when she’s most exposed. »» read article
FLOR —
64th GRAMMY Awards Nominee
- Best Jazz Vocal Album
Vocal Album of the Year International - German Jazz Awards
#3 Album of 2021 -Jazzwise Critics Poll
#5 Best Jazz Albums of 2021 -JazzFM
#5 Best Jazz Albums of 2021 - Guardian, UK
Albums of the Year 2021 - the Arts Desk
Album of the Week, Jazz FM
Editor's Choice, Jazzwise Magazine
10 Albums You Need to Know, Jazziz
Album of the Month, Stereo Magazine, DE
articles / interviews
Jazz Vocalist Gretchen Parlato Is Ready to Blossom Again
In the decade following Parlato’s triumph at the 2004 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Vocals Competition, she changed the texture of the New York scene. ...changed the sound of jazz with her singular voice. After receding from the spotlight to focus on motherhood and teaching, she's back with a solo album... »» read article