DISCOGRAPHY / AUDIO

BREDUX: COLLECTED EDGES (2021)

In this unique curated set of eleven tunes, Brecher’s arrangements, instrumental and vocal choices render each piece into individual soundscapes that amply flesh out depth in each song’s musical narrative. Here, Kaylé is rooted in her authenticity, never loosing the essence of each tune even while crossing boundaries and fusing genres.

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KAYLEIDOSCOPE (2020)

Kaylé Brecher's enthusiastically received eighth recording was once referred to quite accurately as "a walk through a songstress' art gallery" and features Kaylé with:
Kaylé Brecher: all vocals
Ratzo Harris, Darryl Hall, Andy Lalasis, Jim Stager: bass
Dr. John Valerio, Michael Frank, Suzzette Ortiz, David Dzubinski: piano
Frank Butrey: guitar
Erik Johnson, Grant MacAvoy: drums
Doc Gibbs, Juan Castellanos, Joe Ruscitto: percussion

This album is a deliciously distinctive selection of music assembled much like a collection of short stories, each slightly related to the other in progression, with a deeply personal approach leading to engagingvariety of mood, texture and style in every individual tune.

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THIS IS LIFE (2016)

Kaylé Brecher's acclaimed 2016 recording features Kaylé's vocals, arrangements and compositions with:
Kaylé Brecher: all vocals:
Ratzo Harris: bass:
Frank Butrey: guitar:
Grant Calvin Weston: drums:
Brandee Younger: harp:
Gloria Galante: harp:
Benjamin Sutin: violin:
David Dzubinski: piano:

"Brecher is poetic to the core and not afraid to take chances and challenge your ear with jazz tensions and releases, challenging your senses and bending your ear with each twist and turn. She is one unique artist who brings more meaning to her music than most. Style is her middle name - she is here to stay long after just listening." - H. Allen Williams, JazzTimes

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SPIRALS and LINES (2012)

Kaylé Brecher's 2012 brass and voice CD: Spirals and Lines - 4.5 out of 5 Stars
- Tom Hull, Village Voice

Scott Yanow (jazz critic contributor to major jazz magazines including Jazz Times, Jazziz and Downbeat and author of ten books including The Jazz Singers, Jazz On Film and Jazz On Record 1917-76) says :
"Spirals and Lines is a consistently colorful and intriguing set by the very talented singer-arranger-composer Kayle Brecher. Exploring the sound of brass with voice in the unique ensembles, she also utilizes the remarkable sousaphonist Jimmy Parker, guitar, piano and drums but no string bassist or reeds. Performing sophisticated and often-political lyrics that are universal and topical, Ms. Brecher displays a highly expressive voice with a wide range, a deep understanding of the lyrics and a joyful scatting style. This is a CD that certainly rewards repeated listening....
There can be no doubt, after one listen to Spirals and Lines, that this is a major statement from a powerful singer-arranger-composer, one who deserves to be heard many times."

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STARS DON'T WEEP (2016 EP)

This spontaneous recording is the very spirit of music, emotion, passion and visceral response; genre-bending, personal, sometimes minimalistic/sometimes chaotic; and above all musical conversations which run from the tender to the intense. This is an almost totally improvised set of four recordings, two of which are spontaneous musical readings of the poems of bassist Kelly Roberti. It was Kelly's last recording.

"Fearless. Unafraid of keeping the accompaniment to a minimum and placing her instrument foremost. Unafraid to tackle tunes that are unfamiliar, overly familiar, or just offbeat. Unafraid to encourage new and emerging voices. Kaylé Brecher has always been about the music and the paths by which it can be created.This project is a collaboration with Montana bassist, composer, and poet Kelly Roberti, whose time in jazz has included service with David Murray, Jack Walrath, Freddie Hubbard, and many more giants. His creative vision is a heavenly match for Ms. Brecher’s, as together they transform the landscape of music. The session, recorded while Roberti was visiting Philadelphia on his way to Paris, demonstrates the flawless musicianship and professionalism of all involved."
-Todd Jenkins

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SPY MUSIC (2005)

Musicians Featured on 'Spy Music':
Kaylé Brecher : vocals
Jef Lee Johnson, Ron Jennings, Frank Butrey : guitar
Ben Schachter : tenor
Ron Kerber : soprano
Tony Salicandro : alto
Bill Zaccagni : bari
Todd Groves : piccolo
Chico Huff, Paul Klinefelter : bass
Grant MacAvoy, Eric Johnson, Tony Deangelis : drums
Edgardo Cintron : percussion
David Dzubinski : piano

With a foot in tradition, a hand stretched toward the future and a clear sense of statement, Kaylé Brecher is at once completely distinctive and an amalgamation of her great musical influences.

Start with hints of Morgana King and Sheila Jordan, add equal parts Ella and Sarah; stir briskly with vision, intelligence, passion, authenticity and a good sense of self; add a healthy dose of irony and humor; wrap in a supple instrument; blend perfectly into the fabric of each cleverly crafted arrangement and cook to perfection via the hand picked ensembles on this recording. 

'Spy Music', jazz singer/composer Kaylé Brecher's newest release is bold, playful and powerful eclectic jazz, featuring many of Philadelphia's finest musicians. This recording is an enticing journey through a variety of moods, textures and settings, mainstream and beyond, once again proving that this is a singer whose voice and arrangements transcend boundaries.

allaboutjazz.comraves, "Kaylé Brecher is, simply put, one of the most phenomenal voices in the realm of modern creative jazz. On Spy Musicshe is cast in her most impressive setting thus far. Highly recommended. "

play_circle_filledRead the review at All About Jazz

Brecher, who is known for her unusual and inventive settings, continues to explore on this, her fourth, CD. 'So Complicated' is a surprising mix of a slightly outside sax quartet with intricately woven vocals. 'Teardrops for Jimmy', which flows dreamily in and out of rubatos, tempos and feels, is a premiere vocal ballad gem arranged by Kaylé and written by Dave Burrell and Monika Larsson as a tribute to bassist Jimmy Garrison. The tune 'Spy Music' is performed with a quintet that features Kaylé and two gifted funk guitarists, Jef Lee Johnson and Ron Jennings, with Chico Huff (bass) and Eric Johnson (drums) on two takes of unpredictable improvisation, both of which are included on this recording. 'Cool' is an eye opening, hard swinging, dissonant and yet playful, unique version of the West Side Story tune. Then there is 'Under Paris Skies', a musical feast that utilizes South American, African and European rhythms melded together, highlighting percussionist Edgardo Cintron, Todd Groves' piccolo, and an incredibly passionate solo by guitarist Frank Butrey. 'Autumn Leaves', as you've never heard it before, is presented by a trio consisting of Kaylé's vocals, piano (David Dzubinski) and percussion (Edgardo Cintron). 'Power and the Glory' is folk legend Phil Ochs' unsentimental and poignant tribute to America in a setting of voice and drums with piccolo weaving in and out; a swinging, heartfelt and picturesque march. 'My World is Empty Without You' (in a medley with 'When You Were in My World') is not your momma's Diana Ross. Its reharmonized setting, stark and dramatic, is naked voice supported only by bari saxophonist Bill Zaccagni's strong swing, and enhanced sparingly with occasional drums. Pure straight ahead swing is also represented here by the highly spirited 'This Can't Be Love' and 'Old Coat' as well as Brecher's original 'Glad Bag', all three freshly done with mainstream ensemble combinations. This vibrant new CD is full of original ideas, variety and experimentation.

Not your usual vocal fare!

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URBAN OBJECTS (2000)

Collective personnel:
Kaylé Brecher : vocals, percussion
ony Miceli : vibes
Frank Butrey : guitar
Harry Salloti : tuba
David Dzubinski, Michael Louis Frank : piano
Howie Thompson, Micah Jones, Vince Fay, Chico Huff : bass
Edgardo Cintron, Armen Halburian : percussion
Bill Jones, Grant MacAvoy, Tom Poitras : drums.

LINER NOTES by Harvey Pekar

Kaylé Brecher continues to impress as a top notch vocalist and composer-arranger. She's impressive singing everything from ballads to up tempo swingers. Kaylé is an exceptional stylist who can dramatize, personalize and bring to life lyrics, as well as scatting inventively and fluently. And check out her ingenious, economical charts; she gets a lot of music from a handful of instrumentalists, and quite proficient instrumentalists, by the way. Among the impressive soloists is guitarist Frank Butrey, vibist Tony Miceli and pianists David Dzubinski and Michael Frank.

Brecher deserves a great deal of credit for putting this CD together so intelligently. Her excellent singing, of course, contributes much to its success, but the thought and work she's put into making each track distinctive and memorable, her fresh arrangements and compositions and astute selection of musicians should be recognized as well.

play_circle_filledRead the review at All About Jazz

THE TUNES

On "Summertime" Kaylé artfully demonstrates a variety of abilities. The rubato prelude section features her sultry vocal work, followed by a bass vamp leading to a swinging up tempo section during which she turns in energetic wordless, hornlike improvisation with her own distinct flair.

"Li'l Darlin" turns up one of the more unusual duos you're likely to hear, with Kaylé and tubist Harry Salloti. Their high-low contrast in this minimal setting works nicely to make this classic melody stand out. Salloti backs Brecher's relaxed inviting vocal work with agile, full-bodied playing.

The infectious "All Directions", an original Brecher composition, has a stop and start, almost mixed meter quality, and is a vehicle not only for her, but the inventive Butrey. This is a group performance, something Brecher consistently strives for - not just a singer and accompaniment - with drummer Poitras and bassist Thompson completing the ensemble for this compelling track.

Much of the Jefferson Airplane's "Today" is a vibes-vocal duet, which almost seems to have the quality of a gentle English folk-song. But the interplay here takes it to another level. Percussion is added by Brecher and Armen Halburian when Kaylé begins to scat, and the solo section becomes a wonderful sweet-edged improvisational intertwining between Miceli and Brecher which also takes on the feeling of mixed meters.

Chico Huff's fine bass breaks open up the theme statement on "(Back to the) Red Clay". In this Freddie Hubbard tune with Kaylé's lyric, Kaylé spaces out the head and directs the rhythm section in a setting reminiscent of Weather Report. On this track and on "Choices", a Brecher composition with an Afro-Cuban feel, the rhythm section work gets relatively complex, with percussionist Edgardo Cintron joining the band on both tunes, and Brecher adding extra percussion on Choices. During these two tunes Kaylé sings engagingly, and she solos with strength and flexibility on (Back to the) Red Clay. Also woven in are very fine solos by Miceli, a solid modern player, on (Back to the) Red Clay; Butrey, note his subtle use of distortion and note bending on Choices; Dzubinski, who provides the perfect touch, and sensitive contrast to Butrey's intensity on Choices.

There is still another duet on "Cry Me a River", with Brecher contributing sensuous singing and dramatic use of silence, and Butrey working subtly with her. It has a mood similar to the Julie London version, but Kaylé, a distinctive stylist, definitely makes it her own.

On "Humdrum Blues" Kaylé pays homage to Sheila Jordan. Sheila recorded this tune on her debut album many years ago. and here Brecher takes that same arrangement, embellishes it with more instruments, a slightly altered mood, and adds her own personality. The result is a treat.

"An Elegant Tale" (now older version) is a delightful and intelligent Brecher composition in which she has infused into the drum set traditional West African rhythms interspersed with straight out swing sections. Drummer Bill Jones executes all this with impeccable energy. All the other percussion on this tune is played by Brecher, and note the excellent diction of her singing and her sophisticated lyrics.

"Things We Said Today" is taken at a slow, deliberate pace, as drummer Tom Poitras employs an R&B style. Brecher's singing has a supple bluesy quality while retaining its delicacy. Pianist Dzubinski and guitarist Butrey frame her singing with freely interwoven lines and playful interaction.

The CD ends impressively with "Like a Wind", by Boston composer Darrell Katz, who excerpted the lyrics from Sherwood Anderson's Winesberg, Ohio. Kaylé's treatment of this tune, presents another unique lineup: tuba, voice and acoustic guitar (Butrey). Brecher is warm and personal, and Butrey's playing has a Bach-like quality.

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THE PRIDE INSIDE (1996)

'The Pride Inside' is only available by contacting Penchant Four Records (out of print)

CHOICES (1990)

'Choices' is only available by contacting Penchant Four Records (out of print)