Vocalist Giacomo Gates came to town this weekend to justify my disdain (or at least indifference) to singers like Michael Buble’. As the people-pleasing pop performer delivers a show that is as polished as his nails, in a perfectly generic manner that is well schooled from the right side of the tracks, Gates as the anti-Buble’ tells you stories like you’re in a chapter from Travels with Charley , riding in a pickup with a guy that saw you thumbing your way up the coast. He’s been a bulldozer operator and bouncer before taking up singing, for Pete sakes! What do you want? “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport?”
Teamed up with drummer Joe LaBarbera’s trio of Bruce Forman/g and Tom Warrington/b, Gates delivered material from his latest disc (Miles Tones) that focuses on material either composed by or associated with the iconic trumpeter. Using lyrics from the likes of Oscar Brown, Jon Hendricks, Eddie Jefferson, and even himself, Gates delivered virile and earthy vocals on material like “All Blues” as well as using his voice to scat, trumpet, whistle or create a bass line on snappy readings of “Boplicity” and “In Walked Bud.” With a voice as leathery as a 20 year old catcher’s mitt (and like a great glove, it handled every pitch perfectly), he swerved and swayed like a 4 wheel drive pickup on the tricky “Four” (“If you can understand the words, I’m not singing it fast enough,” he quipped) as well as sounding gloriously regretful on “I Fall In Love Too Easily” and sensationally desultory on “’Round Midnight.” His opening duo with Warrington on “Bye Bye Blackbird” sauntered like he just walked out of a bar at 2 am, while he sang and cajoled “Summertime” along with Forman’s Gil Evans-inspired chords. Closing the evening with a rousing left-right combo of “Night in Tunisia” and “Milestones” Gates made the evening feel so hip that it showed cellulite! One night here was simply a tease, and made us also hope that the Bakery soon reopens so we can see this guy 3-4 nights in a row. WOW!
www.jazzbakery.com