Carla Cook is known as a jazz singer. But she pushes the boundaries of jazz at times.
She grew up in Detroit playing the double bass and listening to all kinds of music. When she sings, you can hear the flavors of Motown, gospel, and funk. Sometimes there's even a splash of opera in her voice.

In this piece, Cook describes the joy of improvising over a tight rhythm section, talks about what she takes from James Brown, and tells the story of a gospel song she sings in memory of her mother.

As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported Musicians in their own words
series, the story is told through a mix of the performer's voice and music. There is no reporter's voice heard, allowing the feature to be smoothly incorporated into station news, talk, or music programming.

A script is attached, and may be edited at will.

Cook's tour schedule includes these dates:

Oct 1,Richard Stockton College of Performing Arts, Atlantic City, NJ
Oct 16, New Orleans Louisiana
Nov 6, Parlor Jazz, Brooklyn, NY

This piece originially aired on KUOW, Seattle. Hide full description

Carla Cook is known as a jazz singer. But she pushes the boundaries of jazz at times. She grew up in Detroit playing the double bass and listening to all kinds of music. When she sings, you can hear the flavors of Motown, gospel, and funk. Sometimes there's even a splash of opera in her voice. In this piece, Cook describes the joy of improvising over a tight rhythm section, talks about what she takes from James Brown, and tells the story of a gospel song she sings in memory of her mother. As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported Musicians in their own words series, the story is told through a mix of the per...
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