Faye Carol | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, Blues, R&B, Gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Educator |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Labels | Getdown Records, Gamble Girls Records, World Stage Records, Lily Records, Hit Records |
| Website | fayecarol |
Faye Carol is an American singer in the traditions of jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, and beyond, known as The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol. [1] [2]
Faye Carol was born in Meridian, Mississippi. [3] After moving with her family to Pittsburg, California, she participated in youth choir at the Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church [4] and toured nationally with the gospel group The Angelaires. [3] She gained early experience as a vocalist working with pianist Martha Young, [5] niece to jazz saxophonist Lester Young, and was mentored by her soon-to-be husband, musician, composer, and educator Jim Gamble. [6]
After winning a talent contest at the Oakland Auditorium, Faye Carol began her professional career performing with Oakland funk pioneers Johnny Talbot & De Thangs. [7] She soon became a local icon, winning Top Star Awards 'Best Singer' in 1968 [8] and performing at popular venues in the Bay Area's thriving Black community of the mid-1960s [9] including The Sportsman, The Triangle Club, Club McKesmo, and Club Long Island. She released her first single Good Man/Lies in 1967 on Hit Records. In her early years as a professional vocalist she worked with local legends Eddie Foster, Ed Kelly, Richie Goldberg, Johnny Heartsman, and Claude High as well as music icons including Earl Hines, Vi Redd, and Charles Brown. She founded her own group, Mzizi, performing at the UC Berkeley Jazz Festival. [10] During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked for Bill Graham performing with Johnny Talbot & De Thangs at The Fillmore and Winterland Ballroom, opening for acts such as Otis Redding, James Brown, Martha and the Vandellas, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane [5] and sang at Free Angela Davis and Black Panther Party rallies in Oakland, CA.
During the 1970s she gained renown performing on San Francisco's jazz and cabaret scenes, including notable lengthy stints at Fanny's, [11] The Caracole, and the Alta Plaza. [3] Faye Carol was the first artist to augment the traditional vocal and piano cabaret sound to include bass and drums, and was one of the first Black artists to be recognized in the cabaret world, being awarded Cabaret Gold Awards in 1978, 1983, and 1984. In 1977, she toured the West Coast with Marvin Gaye, Melba Moore, and L.T.D.. She released her albums Classic Caroling in 1982 and Alive at the Great American Music Hall in 1985. [12]
Faye Carol soon became known as a Betty Carter or Art Blakey [13] of the West Coast, with her band serving as a school and training ground [14] for many of the most renowned musicians to emerge from the Bay Area [15] including Benny Green, Glen Pearson, Dayna Stephens, Darrell Green, Marcus Shelby, Howard Wiley, and her daughter, Kito Kamili.
In 1990, Faye Carol performed with the Bay Area Jazz All-Stars at the Oakland Coliseum for the For a Free South Africa musical celebration of Nelson Mandela's first visit to the Bay Area, [16] alongside John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Ed Kelly, Troy Lampkins, Pharoah Sanders, and E.W. Wainwright. In 1990 she released The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol and in 1996, she released The Flow with the Kito Gamble Trio, featuring Billy Higgins. [17]
In 1998 Faye Carol founded Music in the Community, an after school music program for youth at Black Repertory Theater [18] in Berkeley, California [19] continuing until 2014. She has additionally been on music faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, East Bay Institute for Urban Arts, Jazz Camp West, Blues In the Schools, and Jam Camp West. [20] Her vocal proteges include Ledisi and Kehlani. [21] In 2000, she founded the organization School of The Getdown, with the mission to celebrate and promote Black music and share these cultural traditions with diverse Bay Area communities, with particular attention towards youth and the Black community. School of The Getdown offers vocal workshops, annual Black History Month lecture-performances in local schools, an after school youth arts program, an annual summer Youth Arts Camp, and presents concerts, festivals, and commissioned artistic works including the annual Black Women's Roots Festival. [22]
In 2008 she released Faye Sings Lady Day (Live at Yoshi's), and in 2009 she released Carolizing Christmas, followed by Faye Sings Lady Day Volume 2 (Live at Yoshi's) in 2014. She appeared in the 2017 documentary film Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland's Music Legacy . [23] Her forthcoming project Forever Dynamic, a double CD featuring Dennis Chambers, Tarus Mateen, and Joe Warner, will be released on Getdown Records in 2026.
Throughout her career, Faye Carol has shared the stage with artists including Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Ray Charles, Gene Ammons, Pharoah Sanders, Joan Baez, Billy Higgins, Albert King, Bobby Hutcherson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Buster Williams, Azar Lawrence, Steve Turre, Dennis Chambers, Bernard Purdie, Lenny White, Robert Randolph, Mistah F.A.B., Henry Butler, Gary Bartz, Cedar Walton, Ledisi, Billy Hart, Roy McCurdy, Mike Clark, Casey Benjamin, Philly Joe Jones, Lady Tramaine Hawkins, Houston Person, Vi Redd, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Dayna Stephens, Dorothy Donegan, Pete Escovedo, David Murray, Chester Thompson, Charles Brown (musician), Elena Pinderhughes, Terrace Martin, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Eddie Vinson, among others.[ citation needed ]
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Good Man/Lies | Hit Records |
| 1982 | Classic Caroling | Lily Records |
| 1985 | Alive at the Great American Music Hall | Lily Records |
| 1990 | The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol | Gamble Girls Records |
| 1996 | The Flow (with Kito Gamble Trio) | World Stage Records |
| 2008 | Faye Sings Lady Day (Live at Yoshi's) | Gamble Girls Records |
| 2009 | Carolizing Christmas | Gamble Girls Records |
| 2014 | Faye Sings Lady Day Volume 2 (Live At Yoshi's) | Gamble Girls Records |
| Year | Title | Lead Artist | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | De Thang | Johnny Tolbert & De Thang | Oakland Rhythm & Blues Op'ry |
| 1994 | Dr. B | Bernard Anderson | Old Ass G Entertainment |
| 1995 | Skin Talk | Carolyn Brandy | Skin Talk Music |
| 2002 | Tin Roof Blues | Mal Sharpe's Big Money in Jazz Band | Mal Sharpe |
| 2005 | Represent | Sista Kee | Gamble Girls Records |
| 2007 | The Angola Project | Howard Wiley | Howard Wiley |
| 2008 | Harriet Tubman: Bound for the Promised Land | Marcus Shelby Orchestra | Noir Records |
| 2008 | Firecracker Baby | Mal Sharpe's Big Money in Jazz Band | Mal Sharpe |
| 2011 | Soul of the Movement: Meditations Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | Marcus Shelby Orchestra | Porto Franco Records |
| 2010 | 12 Gates to the City | Howard Wiley | Howard Wiley |
| 2016 | Velvet Bone | Johnny Talbot & De Thangs | Oakland Rhythm & Blues Op'ry |
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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