Kaylé  Brecher

"Kaylé Brecher's singing has a contemporary soul that satisfies the music connoisseur.

Her arrangements and compositions are loaded with passion and clarity."

-Dave Burrell, jazz pianist and composer

"I just experienced a very, very good and interesting CD called 'Spirals and Lines' by vocalist Kaylé Brecher.

She performs with a brass group for which she did all the arrangements.

The CD consists of originals, a couple of rarely-performed "standards" and many surprises. Check it out!"

-Jack Walrath, jazz musician and composer

"Kaylé Brecher's songs possess universal appeal.

They are both a reflection of the times and the way she feels about them.

Her talent as both a singer and a songwriter comes through in a unique voice.."

-Freddie Hubbard, jazz artist and composer  

"(Kaylé Brecher's) scat improvisations are evocative of Sheila Jordan and, to a degree, Janet Lawson.

She manipulates syllables for rhythmic impetus, although she doesn’t include the exaggerated enunciation

that was the trademark of Lawson or, more recently, Fay Victor. Still, her textual messaging, at least on

Spirals and Lines, is every bit as evident as  Victor’s socio-political writing. "

-Ratzo Harris, jazz artist and composer  (NOTE: click link/picture just below to read Ratzo Harris' whole review on his Music Blog)

***READ RATZO HARRIS COMPLETE REVIEW: click here --> 

"A versatile set of pipes that can run the jazz table

from Sheila Jordan and Sarah Vaughn

to Morgana King and Ella Fitzgerald. From smooth as silk

to that raw edge, Brecher has a vocal style

hard to pin down and in an overly crowded field of

female vocalists that can work well in her favor …   

A serious jazz triple threat with mad skills and the ability

 to take her creative energy anywhere she wants to go.

The real deal."

-Brent Black, Criticaljazz.com, October, 2012

"Kaylé has found her core on this recording (Spirals and Lines).

Not the instrumentation (which is truly fantastic) -

not the quality of recording (which is ultimately impeccable) -

not the vocals and the lyrics (which are in a class of their own) -

but in the furtherance and strength of the core and heart of our art.

Thank you Kaylé.

This is quite a journey into the effort and reality of jazz."

 -Kelly Roberti, jazz artist, composer, poet

KAYLE BRECHER/Spirals and Lines:

A well pedigreed jazz vocalist/arranger promises that this won’t be
the usual jazz vocal album, and she delivers on the promise.
Running her own show, she’s free to color within and without the
lines at will. Opening up with some crime jazz filtered through
Nawlins, she proceeds to mix Dylan with Harburg with Robinson
with originals with 1800s antiwar songs---yep, it’s different, but
not just for the sake of different. With a distinctly New York
sounding big band in tow, this is the free 60s brought into the
10s with a load of hippie cross cultural pollination sprinkled over
everything.    A little Carla Bley meets the Saturday Night Live Band
is the underpinning that makes this set fire on all of its cylinders.
Wild stuff that takes you far away from the usual jazz diva fare.
Volume 35/Number 350
October 5, 2012
MIDWEST RECORD
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher

KAYLE BRECHER/Spirals and Lines:

Kaylé Brecher is truly a dual force as performer and songwriter who

continually reshapes the public perception of jazz and American music.

Spirals and Lines is another bright, bold journey down Ms. Brecher’s refreshing creative path.

-Todd Jenkins - AllAboutJazz.com

allaboutjazz-Spirals and Lines

KAYLE BRECHER/Spirals and Lines:

She (Brecher) arranged all of the pieces on the album (Spirals and Lines),

and her brilliant transformation of Bob Dylan’s folk anthem, “Paths of Victory”

 into a swinging New Orleans march for voice, sousaphone and drums is one of the

album’s highlights. Yip Harburg’s Depression-era standard “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime”

 is set for the same trio, and Brecher’s reading reveals a deep understanding of the song’s harmony.

 The longest cut is Charles Mingus’ “Noddin’ Ya Head Blues” (aka “White Collar Blues”, here outfitted

with lyrics by former JHO contributor Ellen Johnson). Brecher’s chart was designed as a tribute to the

original instrumental version, and her scat solo—more than the instrumental solos that surround it—

hints at a more sophisticated chord structure than is played by the rhythm section.

Brecher also wrote three originals for the album, including the title track, “Will of the Wind” and

“So It Goes”. Each of these pieces features her original lyrics (reprinted in the album liners)

and prickly wide-ranging melodies sung by Brecher with uncanny accuracy.

Jazz History Online
Vocalists At The Edge, October 30, 2012
by Thomas Cunliffe
Editor and Publisher

*note: that's 4.97 out of his 5 point scale

"The remarkable Kaylé Brecher ranks among Philadelphia’s finest jazz singers; nay,

among the best the East has to offer. Over the past decade she has distinguished herself

as a fearless interpreter of song, a subtle stylist with an instrumentalist’s creativity."

- AllAboutJazz.com 

"Kaylé Brecher is a marvelous singer with a distinctive approach and unique gift for composition."

"...(Spirals and Lines) a deep and serious and yet buoyant recording."

"Adventurous music ... not the usual fare ... very creative ... resulted in enthusiastic feedback from listeners. "

"So many different styles throughout the CD and so many of them filmic

and image provoking like Cool and Spy Music.  I particularly enjoyed This can't be love

...every bit the Jazz Standard and beautifully delivered. "

"Among contemporary vocalists, Kaylé Brecher ranks in the top echelon...

she sees her vocals in a complete context - sees them better than almost all vocalists, past and present."  

- Harvey Pekar, freelance writer and contributor to JazzTimes, Jazziz and Downbeat   

"I love Kaylé Brecher’s CD (Spy Music). To me it’s like a breath of fresh air.

"...an imaginative, mainstream improviser with a supple voice

that suggests the pairing of Sheila Jordan and Sarah Vaughan."

- Al Lubiejewski, Showcase Magazine

“..the vivacious Ms. Brecher injects bold new spirit

into familiar material and conjures up exciting, original surprises.

She is a master at finding hidden potential in songs.... “  

"Like great jazz vocalists Betty Carter and the late great Billie Holiday,

Brecher is a thoroughly engaging presence. Even when she reins things in,

she is able to build momentum with her humor, wit and grace...a gifted writer and arranger,

Brecher keeps the songs moving without losing the interesting improvisational turns."

"A very powerful voice!"

 "Kaylé is a stylist in every sense of the word, giving each selection a deeply personal rendering."

"Sweet... Sassy... Intelligent"

- Bob Francesconi, Showcase Magazine

"She adds much warmth by giving lyrics a sensitive, sensuous interpretation.

Her scat not only utilizes upper and lower ranges, but spreads tonal color

across a broad palette of sound."

-Michael Plasha, Erie Times-News
 

"a beautiful CD ('Spy Music') - a beautiful singer."

" ('Spy Music') knocked me out... fabulous!"