Biography
Carla Cook grew up in Detroit before establishing herself in New York as a jazz vocalist whose earthy delivery carries pronounced R&B inflections and a sophisticated sense of phrasing. She rejects any notion that jazz singing requires strict allegiance to purist boundaries, instead folding blues, gospel, and R&B textures into her style while readily adapting material from outside the conventional jazz, pre-rock pop, or Tin Pan Alley repertory. Whereas many peers confine themselves to standards written in the 1920s through 1940s, Cook locates jazz possibilities in rock and R&B compositions such as Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair,” Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe,” and Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.” She continues to program a selection of Tin Pan Alley pieces in both recordings and performances yet refuses to regard the contributions of Harold Arlen, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin as the final worthwhile chapter in popular song.
Her earliest vocal experiences occurred in Detroit, where she began singing as a child and performed regularly in a Protestant church, absorbing the gospel sensibility that later colored her work. Her family placed no restrictions on secular listening, allowing her to explore R&B, rock, country, and European classical music; she has cited John Coltrane, Chaka Khan, and Johann Sebastian Bach among the artists she most admires. Jazz gradually emerged as her central pursuit. After relocating to Boston for college and completing a degree in speech communication, she arrived in New York in 1990. There she performed regularly on the Manhattan club circuit while supporting herself through day jobs that included bookstore employment and teaching social studies at a junior high school. By the late 1990s she had transitioned to full-time singing.
In 1998 Cook signed with the St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ, known for its supportive stance toward vocalists. Her debut recording, It’s All About Love, appeared on the label in 1999 and earned generally positive notices along with a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. She followed with Dem Bones in 2000 and Simply Natural in 2002, both also issued by MAXJAZZ.
Her earliest vocal experiences occurred in Detroit, where she began singing as a child and performed regularly in a Protestant church, absorbing the gospel sensibility that later colored her work. Her family placed no restrictions on secular listening, allowing her to explore R&B, rock, country, and European classical music; she has cited John Coltrane, Chaka Khan, and Johann Sebastian Bach among the artists she most admires. Jazz gradually emerged as her central pursuit. After relocating to Boston for college and completing a degree in speech communication, she arrived in New York in 1990. There she performed regularly on the Manhattan club circuit while supporting herself through day jobs that included bookstore employment and teaching social studies at a junior high school. By the late 1990s she had transitioned to full-time singing.
In 1998 Cook signed with the St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ, known for its supportive stance toward vocalists. Her debut recording, It’s All About Love, appeared on the label in 1999 and earned generally positive notices along with a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. She followed with Dem Bones in 2000 and Simply Natural in 2002, both also issued by MAXJAZZ.
Albums
Singles
