Giacomo Gates singing the music of Miles Davis

Saturday June 22nd at 8PM

With “Miles Tones,” Gates springboards into the big league of great jazz singers with solid material and an in-the-pocket band that underscores his intrinsic hipness and gift for a song. His exciting and essential jazz attributes of swinging, improvising and deep feeling for the blues make Gates an extremly accomplished singer, of the highest order. If a Rolls Royce could sing jazz... it would assuredly sound like Giacomo Gates.

Jon Hendricks, in Sunday NY Times Feature: “Not many people can master this music, but Giacomo Gates has. He’s an important man. You’re in for a treat when Giacomo takes the stage !  It’s loose and jazzy. He tells stories, sings, scats and declares homage to King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson and makes no bones about it. Gates is a jazz troubadour – a worldly wise grand-master of scat and vocalese. He is one of the jazz world’s finest living exemplars of true grit.”

Dave Brubeck said: “I have really enjoyed hearing Giacomo sing. It’s refreshing to actually hear the words and understand the lyrics – all to a swinging beat. Gates has convinced me that he’s not only a master at singing inventive bebop lines and lyrics, but straight-ahead ballads as well. His enunciation is crisp and clear, his baritone voice rich, true and musical. He’s always got a sense of humor in his voice, and he swings!"

Gates fits the profile of the suave, cool jazz singer with ease, interpreting the standards with great humor and freshness. At last, we are hearing distinctive vocal jazz. He is more than a jazz singer. He’s a musician and a storyteller who “plays” through a wonderfully weathered baritone voice. Giacomo Gates just may be the Dennis Hopper of vocal jazz.

“Miles Tones” is Gates’ tribute to many of the timeless compositions pulled from the Miles Davis discography through out his Birth of the Cool period. Gaicomo’s treatment of the material, from All Blues through Boplicity is ample evidence that he is a vocal treasure !

Read the full New York Times Article.

Performance made possible in part by Art in Public Places Program Grant with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.