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Carla Cook is a
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-nominated jazz vocalist.


Biography

Cook was drawn to a life of music at an early age. As a student at
Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.
she played string bass in the school orchestra, studied piano and voice on weekends, and sang in her church's choir. An elder brother introduced her to jazz, Cook chose voice as her instrument of choice, and she became a disciple of jazz icon
Eddie Jefferson Eddie Jefferson (August 3, 1918 – May 9, 1979) was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims t ...
, founder of a singing technique called "
vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...
" where a singer sings lyrics to a famous instrumental solo. During this time she and close friend
Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...
formed dreams of becoming jazz musicians; Cook as a singer, and Carter as a violinist. At Carter's urging she applied to and was accepted by
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
in Boston, Massachusetts. While at Northeastern she remained in close contact with Carter (who was studying at the
New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...
and met
Cyrus Chestnut Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for ''Time'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes ...
, a jazz pianist studying at nearby
Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
. After graduating from Northeastern in 1985 Cook remained in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
preparing herself for a career singing jazz in New York. In February 1990 she moved to New York and supported herself as a school teacher and book seller during the day, and singing at night. After five years she traveled to Europe and from 1993 to 1994 Cook served as a guest vocal and ensemble instructor at the Jazzschule in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and Jazz and Rock Schule in
Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
, Germany. She returned to New York two years later and her work included singing with
Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...
’s Orchestra and George Gee's Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra. In 1998 she signed with MaxJazz, a fledgling music label, and that year she released her first CD, ''It's All About Love'', to great acclaim, including a best jazz vocal Grammy nomination. Her second CD, ''Dem Bones'' (a tribute to all the trombone players she had worked with in the Lionel Hampton and George Gee groups), released in 2001, was also a success, and received a glowing review from ''
Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine, the leading jazz publication. In 2002 she released her CD ''Simply Natural'', which was inspired by her love for the beauty found in nature. In 2011 her rendition of
Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...
's "
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his wife. At the time, the couple were lovers, although MacColl was still married to his ...
" was featured on jazz percussionist Steve Kroon's CD ''Without A Doubt''. Cook performs globally both with her own groups, most notably "the Carla Cook Quintet", and as a guest soloist with artists including Eric Reed and old friends
Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...
and
Cyrus Chestnut Cyrus Chestnut (born January 17, 1963) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for ''Time'', wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes ...
(both of whom have become luminaries in the jazz world). Her eclectic venues include the digital realm as she performs as the character Teriyaki Yoko in the Sony PlayStation game ''
Um Jammer Lammy is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation video game console in 1999. It is a spin-off follow up to 1996's ''PaRappa the Rapper'', once again featuring the collaboration of m ...
'', and she has said that it is a dream of hers to appear with her favorite characters on ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
''. Cook was the headliner at the 2018 Central Jazz Festival's September 16, 2018, show in
Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a borough and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.New Je ...
."Carla Cook Singing 'Change the World' at 2018 Central Jersey Jazz Festival".
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Discography

* ''It's All About Love'' (
Maxjazz Maxjazz (corporately styled MAXJAZZ) was an American jazz record label founded in 1998 by investment banker Richard McDonnell. Maxjazz recordings are generally regarded as a "straight-ahead" acoustic style of jazz. It was based in St. Louis, Mis ...
, 1999) * ''Dem Bones'' (Maxjazz, 2001) * ''Simply Natural'' (Maxjazz, 2002)


As guest

* George Gee, ''Setting the Pace'' (GJazz, 2004)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Carla Living people American women jazz singers American jazz singers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women