The vocalese medium has been expanding since Eddie Jefferson first began barking out bebop solos in the early 1960s. Jefferson's hard swing phrasing opened up a score of possibilities for the archetypical jazz singer. Since then, the vocalese genre has been nurtured into a creatively unique branch on jazz's straight-ahead tree. Gates continues to carry this vocal tradition into today's modern realm with continence.
AAJ Contributor Sean Dietrich spoke with Gates about the singer's rather circuitous journey to jazz, and keeping the vocalese tradition alive.
Check out Giacomo Gates: An Unconventional Backstory at AAJ today!
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