Primary Instrument: Vocal
Unique jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger, Kaylé Brecher (Kay-La BrecKer) is a singer who is at once completely distinctive and an amalgamation of her great musical influences. Showcase Magazine once described her sound as “a supple voice that suggests the pairing of Sheila Jordan and Sarah Vaughan.” One could accurately add Morgana King and Ella Fitzgerald to that description. Hers is a versatile and flexible instrument, which can move from silky, smooth and subtle to bold and bluesy; refined to brash and raw. Kaylé's instrumental and compositional approach to singing leads to explorations of the mood, texture and style in each individual tune, which results in exciting variety.
Imaginative, versatile and eclectic, Kaylé has performed in settings ranging from traditional jazz through bop, free jazz and experimental music. She is a native New Yorker and began her career as a very young teen, singing blues and standards in the clubs of Greenwich Village. Her varied and active career has included concerts, festivals, live radio performances, a Public TV documentary soundtrack, clubs and other fine venues along the East coast, studio production work and five recordings. She has opened for Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Doc Severinsen, and has shared the stage with Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz, Red Rodney and others.
A skilled arranger and composer, Kaylé is more than a singer: she is a complete musical package. Combining an impressive command of her expressive instrument and wide range with artful writing and creative arranging, she enchants the listener with unique inventive settings, vivid subtlety, masterful phrasing and sophisticated lyrics. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Temple University with a double major in performance and composition/arranging, Kaylé was a long time member of the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop in New York City, as well as pursuing private studies in composition and arranging with both Jim McNeely and Michael Abene Three of her original compositions and two of her versions of Freddie Hubbard tunes have been published by Freddie Hubbard's publishing company Hubtones and two of her versions of Herbie Hancock tunes have been published by Hancock Music. Her compositional skills have also garnered several awards in the jazz category of the Billboard Song Contest, including one major prize.
Kaylé says of her approach to writing and singing: “ Each piece is like a movie or vignette in which one is totally immersed; story, emotion, mood and intention brought alive by settings carefully chosen to enhance the ambiance while encouraging improvisation in each performance.” “In performance, I feel melodic content as an intricate dance of shapes and colors entwining and flowing with or rubbing against harmonic and rhythmic partners. ” Originally from New York City, Kaylé is now based in the Philadelphia area. Her regional work has included performances at many current and past well known area venues, such as Chris' Jazz Cafe, The Painted Bride Art Center, the old Zanzibar Blue, The Academy of Music, Rutgers University, Philadelphia University and Temple University, as well as festivals and a live radio broadcast on WRTI FM of one of her performances at the old Blue Moon Jazz Cafe.
An eclectic, dynamic and creative performer, Penchant Four Records artist Kaylé Brecher's latest release 'Spirals and Lines' makes a strong, bold statement and features many of Philadelphia's finest musicians on an incredible journey of moods and settings, once again proving that this is a singer whose vocals and arrangements are out of the box and transcend boundaries.
”Spirals and Lines is a consistently colorful and intriguing set by the very talented singer-arranger-composer Kayle Brecher. Exploring the sound of brass with voice in the unique ensembles, Ms. Brecher displays a highly expressive voice with a wide range, a deep understanding of the lyrics and a joyful scatting style. This is a CD that certainly rewards repeated listening.” ~Scott Yanow, jazz critic/contributor to major jazz magazines and jazz author/historian
”I just experienced a very, very good and interesting CD called Spirals and Lines by vocalist Kaylé Brecher. She performs with a brass group for which she did all the arrangements. The CD consists of originals, a couple of rarely-performed “standards” and many surprises. Check it out!” ~Jack Walrath, jazz musician and composer
“Kaylé has found her core on this recording (Spirals and Lines). Not the instrumentation (which is truly fantastic) - not the quality of recording (which is ultimately impeccable) - not the vocals and the lyrics (which are in a class of their own) but in the furtherance and strength of the core and heart of our art.” ~-Kelly Roberti, jazz artist, composer
Kaylé Brecher's singing has a contemporary soul that satisfies the music connoisseur. Her arrangements and compositions are loaded with passion and clarity. ~Dave Burrell, jazz pianist and composer
The remarkable Kaylé Brecher ranks among Philadelphia’s finest jazz singers; nay, among the best the East has to offer. Over the past decade she has distinguished herself as a fearless interpreter of song, a subtle stylist with an instrumentalist’s creativity. ~Todd Jenkins, AllAboutJazz.com
Kaylé Brecher is a marvelous singer with a distinctive approach and unique gift for composition. ~Mark Gridley, author of Jazz Styles, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
“Kaylé Brecher's singing has a contemporary soul that satisfies the music connoisseur. Her arrangements and compositions are loaded with passion and clarity.” ~Dave Burrell, jazz pianist and composer
“she sees her vocals in a complete context - sees them better than almost all vocalists, past and present” - Harvey Pekar, freelance writer and contributor to Jazz Times, Jazziz and Downbeat
“Kaylé Brecher's songs possess universal appeal. They are both a reflection of the times and the way she feels about them. Her talent as both a singer and a songwriter comes through in a unique voice.. ~Freddie Hubbard, jazz artist and composer
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Primary Instrument:
Vocal
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
Credentials/Background:
Conservatory of Musical Arts, Audubon, NJ
215-850-4162 accepting intermediate through advanced, beginners by audition only
