This unequaled vocalese master is a hipster’s hipster and a story teller’s story teller. He’s Lord Buckley and Professor Irwin Cory by way of Eddie Jefferson and Jon Hendricks. Captivating, entertaining, amusing and oh so musical, this cat is absolutely without equal. No matter where he roams the stage, the reviews are almost always the same… ‘Where did this cat come from? He’s absolutely phenomenal!’ And, when he puts his lyrics to Bird’s solos, the magic really begins.
-Frank Malfitano, Exec. Director, Detroit/Ford Jazz Festival
“In summary, as exciting and essential as his Jazz attributes (swinging, improvising and feeling for the blues) were that night, Giacomo Gates was also (and perhaps, more importantly), simply a very accomplished professional singer, of the highest order.”
-Tom Pierce, Albanyjazz.com
“If the Rolls Royce could sing jazz, it would assuredly sound like Giacomo Gates.”
-Dan Singer, In Tune International
“Gates is one of the most extraordinary singers working in jazz today, the owner of a joyful baritone who has synthesized a host of influences – Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks and Sinatra among them – and turned them into something uniquely his own.”
-Glenn Whipp, LA Daily News
“Gates is a talented, skillful, rock solid professional. What makes him truly exceptional is that there is no difference between his work and his life – Jazz is truly his style.”
-Stanley Naftaly, Jazz Now
“Not many people can master this music, but Giacomo Gates has. He’s an important man.”
-Jon Hendricks, Sunday NY Times Feature
“Giacomo Gates has established himself as a member in good standing of the ever-so-exclusive club of male jazz singers.”
-Tom Ineck, Kansas City Star
“He has the ability to get to a tune’s essence in a way that perhaps its composer couldn’t, something Billie Holiday was noted for in her many interpretations of banal pop material.”
-Richard Meyer, Espresso Jazz
“Giacomo Gates is simply, quite unique.”
-Bob Agnew, LA Jazz Scene
“It’s loose and jazzy, when Giacomo Gates takes the stage, and you’re in for a treat. He tells stories, makes sounds like a trombone, sings, scats, declares homage to King Pleasure and Eddie Jefferson and makes no bones about it.”
-Dick Crockett, 88.7 Sacramento, CA
“Giacomo Gates is one of the top male jazz singers around today. His scat singing, use of Vocalese and bebop attitude plant him as a successor to Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure and Dave Lambert.”
-Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene
“Jazz vocalist and terminal hipster Giacomo Gates just keeps getting better and better.”
-Joe Lang, New Jersey Jazz Society
“Giacomo Gates, jazz troubadour, worldly wise and grand master of scat and Vocalese, is one of the jazz world’s finest living exemplars of true grit.”
-Owen McNalley, Hartford, Courant
“I heard him in person a few years back at the Red Lion, downtown Portland. I thought he was something unique and special then. I’ve never wavered in that opinion.”
-Dr. Kirby Allen, Portland Jazz Society
“Giacomo Gates is a singer who combines the mellow conversational elegance of a crooner, with the hipster outlook of a bebop scat and Vocalese singer.”
-George Kanzler, Newark Star Ledger
“I have enjoyed hearing your new CD “Centerpiece.” It’s so refreshing to actually hear the words and understand the lyrics, all to a swinging beat.”
-Dave Brubeck
“Gates 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.”
-Phillip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner
“Singer Giacomo Gates has mastered baritone bravado; he has a lovely deep sound, and matches that with a deep affection for Jazz.”
-Bill Bennett, JazzTimes
“Gates is more that a jazz singer. He’s a musician, a hornman who ‘plays’ through a wonderfully weathered baritone voice. He’s also a storyteller, a traveler who’s seen and lived a lot of life. It’s a combination that gives his performance an unusually deep emotional and musical resonance. Giacomo Gates just may be the Dennis Hopper of vocal Jazz.”
-Chuck Berg, Topeka Journal
“Gates sang the daylights out of some Jazz classics, and just when you thought Gates couldn’t top himself, he delivered Lord Buckley’s ‘Soliloquy to Caesar’ and the smoothest ‘Scotch and Soda’ imaginable.”
-Bill Berensmann, Taconic News
“With an Italian name and the voice of a crooner, the music of Giacomo Gates always pleases. This singer interprets the standards with much humor and freshness. At last, here is distinctive vocal Jazz.”
–Citizenjazz.com
