Home » Jazz Musicians » Carla White
Carla White
In the truest spirit of the jazz tradition, Carla White devoted her life to artistic exploration and growth. Born in Oakland, California and raised in Bellport, New York, Carla earliest musical education came from her parents' record collection, listening to "everything from Stravinsky to Sinatra" But her discovery of jazz at the age of 13 had a profound effect, setting her future in motion. "The first time you hear jazz - really hear it", she explains, "if it connects with your soul, it changes your life." After years of study in music, drama and dance that included two years at London's prestigious Webber- Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, she embarked on a personal journey of exploration through Europe and North Africa. For nearly a year she traveled amidst the rich cultural diversity, singing in the streets, and even living in a cave. Remembering that uniquely edifying time Carla says: "I traveled in an old VW van with no planned itinerary. I went wherever I felt like going whenever I felt like going there. The one exception was Franco's Spain where I spent a night in prison for no reason other than being young and foreign. Everyday was a leap into the unknown. Now I satisfy my desire for adventure by leaping into a solo and exploring new musical territory. " Upon returning to New York City in the early 70's, her jazz studies began in earnest with the legendary innovative pianist/composer Lennie Tristano. Combining the lessons learned from her mentor with the age-old jazz method of singing along with recordings of master improvisers like Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Fats Navarro, Carla developed the jazz vocabulary that has earned her such critical praise as: "One of the most impressive performers to come along in years ...an unusually accomplished interpreter" (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune): and "a singer who blends interpretive intelligence -with a solid musical grounding and a sure sense of swing" (Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times). After Tristano's death in 1978, Carla continued her studies with another of his proteges, saxophonist Warne Marsh. Focusing on scat singing in the wordless instrumental style that has always been the cornerstone of jazz vocalizing, she established her first band, a bebop quintet with trumpeter Manny Duran and did a recording for Stash Records, Andruline. Cadence Magazine declared, "Carla White is a scat singer like the Pope is Catholic." Taking every opportunity to learn and grow, Carla waited tables at Hanratty's a now defunct, but well-known New York club that featured top stride pianists like Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton,Davee McKenna and Johnny Guarnieri.
Read moreTags
Carla White: A Voice In The Night
![Read "A Voice In The Night" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/old/styles/cwhite2006b.jpg)
by Michael P. Gladstone
Sadly, this is only the eighth album by jazz vocalist Carla White in the past 23 years, and her first in six. Long-acclaimed for her style and voice by colleagues and fans, White has indeed created a minor masterpiece in A Voice In The Night which will hopefully rectify the situation.
Originally from Oakland, California and raised in Bellport, Long Island, White travelled to London, where she attended the prestigious Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Back in New York in ...
read moreCarla White: The Sweetest Sounds
![Read "The Sweetest Sounds" reviewed by Dave Nathan](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/old/styles/cwhite2000.jpg)
by Dave Nathan
Carla White has been a staple of vocal jazz for almost 20 years. Yet it's the same old story. No matter how talented - - and she is high on the talent list - - White has had trouble getting her art put to disk. She had to go to Mexico for her last CD. Now this one is issued by a Japanese company. Half of the liner notes on my copy are in Japanese. It was recorded in 1996 ...
read moreCarla White: The Sweetest Sounds
![Read "The Sweetest Sounds" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/old/styles/cwhite2000.jpg)
by C. Andrew Hovan
During the period when jazz had reached a popular appeal unlike anything seen before or since, the idea of a woman vocalist fronting a big band was a fashionable and alluring notion. It was the swing era and such names as Mildred Bailey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, and countless others came up through the ranks, first getting their starts as an adjunct to the dance bands. That kind of experience no longer exists for today's jazz vocalist, yet ...
read moreCarla White: The Sweetest Sounds
![Read "The Sweetest Sounds" reviewed by Jim Santella](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/old/styles/cwhite2000.jpg)
by Jim Santella
Her breathy alto voice sets up a romantic scene for this session of standards. Carla White creates a particularly impressive scene every time she scat sings her way through one of these favorite tunes. Alongside Lew Tabackin, Dean Johnson and Peter Madsen, she's the agile instrumentalist, weaving her voice among their assertive lines. Straight-ahead jazz is timeless. With her ensemble trading fours and interacting seamlessly, White basks in the freedom to be herself.
Not quite as effective on slow, steamy, ...
read moreCarla White: Live at Vartan Jazz
![Read "Live at Vartan Jazz" reviewed by Larry Koenigsberg](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/6976ff9276ac770d62d40a5410c6b30e.jpg)
by Larry Koenigsberg
Carla White's husky, swinging vocal style gets great backing and a justly enthusiastic audience at Denver's Vartan Jazz club on her fifth release, a performance of standards. Less deliberately arranged than her acclaimedListen Here, this set has a vitality that comes from the performers having a good night and giving it out.
White's voice reminds me of the rich velvet sound from the great 1930's tenor players, and she even shares Ben Webster's fondness for flat intonation. Her relaxed rhythmic ...
read moreCarla White: Live At Vartan Jazz
![Read "Live At Vartan Jazz" reviewed by AAJ Staff](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/6976ff9276ac770d62d40a5410c6b30e.jpg)
by AAJ Staff
Carla White is one of the most richly expressive jazz singers of the 1990s, but regrettably, the New York resident hasn't been recorded nearly as often as she deserves to be. The gaps between her albums have been much too long, and it's ridiculous that a label hasn't been recording her exhaustively. That fact makes the release of Live At Vartan Jazz cause for celebration. From evocative, noir-ish ballad singing on The End Of A Love Affair," As Life Goes ...
read moreCarla White Memorial June 8, 2007 at St. Peters Church 5PM
![Carla White Memorial June 8, 2007 at St. Peters Church 5PM](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/6976ff9276ac770d62d40a5410c6b30e.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
Carla White died peacefully at home in NYC, May 9, 2007. Ms. White devoted her life to artistic exploration and growth as a jazz singer. She was born in Oakland, CA and raised in Bellport, NY. Completing two years at London's prestigious Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Ms. White returned to New York City, embarking upon a 30-year career for which she garnered critical praise: One of the most impressive performers to come along in years...an unusually accomplished interpreter," Howard ...
read more
Carla White's The Sweetest Sounds
![Carla White's The Sweetest Sounds](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/bd38a72ed12128b10ddc05c6087dacb8.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
When Carla White entered New York City's Clinton Recording Studios to record what would become The Sweetest Sounds, her seventh album, the acclaimed vocalist was striving for something different. Already enjoying a reputation as one of the finest scat singers on the scene and an extraordinary interpreter of both standard and lesser-known works, Carla took a different approach to the piano trio accompaniment that was central to most of her previous work.
The overall idea of this recording was to ...
read more
"One of the most impressive performers to come along in years...an unusually accomplished interpreter." --Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune "A singer who blends interpretive intelligence with a solid musical grounding and a sure sense of swing." --Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times.