Gretchen Parlato
Breath-close vocals and intricate polyrhythms that feel like a shared secret. Ethereal, understated jazz for quiet nights and deep focus.
Breath-close vocals and intricate polyrhythms that feel like a shared secret. Ethereal, understated jazz for quiet nights and deep focus.
Gretchen Parlato creates a sound that is impossibly intimate, as if she is singing directly into your ear from just inches away. Her voice is a delicate instrument, characterized by a breathy, understated quality that eschews traditional jazz belting in favor of nuance, precision, and a deep sense of space. It is music that feels like a soft exhale, yet it is underpinned by a sophisticated rhythmic complexity that keeps the listener leanng in.
What truly distinguishes Parlato is her use of the voice as a percussive and textural element. She often incorporates intricate hand-claps and wordless vocalizations that blend seamlessly with her band, blurring the line between singer and sideman. Her phrasing draws heavily from Brazilian bossa nova, giving her contemporary jazz compositions a warm, swaying foundation that feels both timeless and modern.
To experience her magic, start with 'In a Dream'. It perfectly captures her ability to reinvent classics through a minimalist lens while showcasing her signature 'whisper' technique. It is the ideal entry point for anyone who appreciates music that rewards close, attentive listening in quiet moments.
Gretchen Parlato (born February 11, 1976) is an American jazz singer. She has performed and recorded with musicians such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Marcus Miller and Lionel Loueke. Parlato's Lean In (2023), a duo album with guitarist Lionel Loueke, received a Grammy Award Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, hitting No. 1 upon release in iTunes Jazz and Best of 2023 in Jazz News Paris, JazzFM and The Boston Globe. Her album Flor (2021) received a Grammy Award Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, hitting No. 1 upon release in iTunes Jazz and No. 3 Best of the Year Albums in Jazzwise Critics Poll '21. Live in NYC (2013) received a Grammy Award Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, also receiving 4.5 stars in Downbeat Magazine, with the DVD hitting No. 1 on the iTunes best music video list. The Lost and Found (2011) received over 30 national and international awards, including Jazztimes Expanded Critics Poll No. 1 Vocal Album of 2011 and iTunes Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. Her 2009 sophomore release, In a Dream, was Jazz Critics Poll No. 1 Vocal Album of 2009 and hailed by Billboard as "the most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009."
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