Home » Jazz Musicians » Gayle Kolb

Gayle Kolb

Gayle Kolb had once played some of the plushest clubs in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and her hometown of Chicago. But it wasn't until she had been away from singing for a stretch of years to devote herself to family that she discovered herself as an artist—a jazz artist, which was what she'd always wanted to be.

Having seen the highly regarded Chicago bassist Dennis Carroll in performance and admired his work with singers, Kolb called him out of the blue for advice on reentering the music world-or not. “I knew he would tell me the truth about my singing,” she says. “He would tell me if I should go home. I was ready for that.”

During her afternoon “audition” at his house, Carroll had her sing songs at extended lengths and scat-something she had done very little of. “I wanted to see how much jazz she had in her,” he says. She passed all tests with flying colors. It didn't take him long to make a decision. “We can do a CD,” he told her after seven minutes, by his estimation.

That CD, released to coincide with Kolb's debut at the 2018 Chicago Jazz Festival, is Getting Sentimental, a title that shouldn't be taken at face value. With her low tones and coolly relaxed phrasing, Kolb never settles for easy emotion. “She sells a song without having to do the big dramatic stuff,” says Carroll. “She is a subtler conveyer of story.

“She has real authenticity,” he adds. “She's so unpretentious, it's sometimes hard to convince her how real her talent is.”

For his part, Carroll never settled for pat solutions as her producer and arranger. He enlisted the services of guitar great Bobby Broom, in whose trio he has long been a member; Cleveland piano phenom Joey Skoch; ace trombonist Tom Garling of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and Chicago Yestet; and always-in-demand drummer George Fludas, with whom the bassist has performed frequently over the years.

Among the tunes Carroll had Kolb cover was Ray Brown's infrequently recorded “Gravy Waltz,” recorded by the Oscar Peterson Trio in the early '60s and set to words by famed talk show host and jazz pianist Steve Allen. “I had her go toe to toe, back and forth, with Bobby,” says Carroll. “It was real old school.”

“That song was so difficult, nobody does it,” says Kolb with a laugh. “I myself don't do many waltzes. But Bobby was helpful and supportive, and listening to the mixing. He's a real perfectionist. We worked really hard on that tune.”

Read more

Tags

1

Recording

"Getting Sentimental," Debut Recording By Chicago Jazz Vocalist Gayle Kolb, Set For August 31 Release By Jerujazz Records

"Getting Sentimental," Debut Recording By Chicago Jazz Vocalist Gayle Kolb, Set For August 31 Release By Jerujazz Records

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

With the August 31 release of her debut recording Getting Sentimental, Chicago’s Gayle Kolb makes a triumphant statement in song after a stretch of years away from music. Produced and arranged by acclaimed Chicago bassist Dennis Carroll for JeruJazz Records, the album reveals Kolb’s metamorphosis from a former nightclub headliner in jny: Los Angeles, jny: Las Vegas, and her hometown of jny: Chicago into a compelling jazz artist in full command of her material and her gift. Kolb will showcase ...

Photos

Music

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.