Live performance reviews below
For CD reviews, click here to go to the Recordings page!

CAROL FREDETTE, BIRDLAND, MEMORIAL DAY, 2009
"In one of her too-rare appearances, Carol Fredette packed them in at Birdland on Memorial Day night. Backed by the superb trio of Andy Ezrin, piano, David Finck, bass, and Adam Nussbaum, drums, the lady who is among the handful who can truly be called a jazz singer held her audience's rapt attention from start to finish of a long and varied a generous sampling of songs from her brand-new CD, Everything in Time (Soundbrush). And everything indeed was in time, and in tune, from swingers to ballads. Among many standouts was a song new to this listener, Michel Legrand and the Bergmans' poignant I Was Born In Love With You. Commendably, Fredette included the seldom heard verse of I Wish I Knew. Among the nods to Brazil was a humorous O Pato, but in a contrasting mood, her rendition of Last Night When We We Were Young was as heartfelt as it gets; the man from Hoboken would have approved. Fredette opened with a sprakling rendition of Bob Dorough's For No Rhyme Or Reason, and its irrepressible auteur, called up for a couple of his specials, joined her for a rousing finale on "Devil May Care." That, needless to say, launched cheers and a standing ovation. To coin a phrase, it was a night to remember. It's great to have that new CD, but we need Fredette live more often!"
Dan Morgenstern, author, historian, jazz critic

"One holiday weekend in Birdland, Carol Fredette was cookin'...always inventive, Fredette displayed her vibrant tableau of Brazilian, rhythm, witty and emotional favorites...sensuous "Vivo Sohando"...outstanding phrasing...physically and vocally expressive, her deliveries are intense, intimate, communicative...sometimes playful. "Last Night When We Were Young," convincing and beautifully rendered. Listening to Fredette's infectious swing and sophisticated interpretations...delicious on any holiday."
Elizabeth Ahlfors, Cabaret Scenes, July/August 2009
Link to Complete Review

"Carol Fredette had a wildly successful evening at Birdland, May 25th...an intriguing cult figure...the pure art of storytelling. Carol Fredette walked on the Birdland stage with beauty, confidence and poise and proceeded to wow the packed audience for an hour of pure entertainment...Here is a jazz interpreter who is also a fine actress, her focus held throughout each number-always mindful to vary the color of each tune. There was a refreshing lack of artifice throughout. The lady's purpose is to serve the song and entertain the audience."
Charles Cochran, Birdland: SINATRA MUSIC SOCIETY (Dublin branch), June 1, 2009

"Fredette immediately established that she knows how to get to the heart of a lyric...Fredette is probably the best interpreter of these two gentlemen (Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough) other than the songwriters themselves. Another ongoing part of Fredette's repertoire is the inclusion of several Brazilian songs in her set list..."Kisses," "Love Dance" and "Madelena," (all by Ivan Lins)..."O Pato," having quite a playful time with John Hendricks playful lyrics. Her takes on "I'm Gonna Laugh you Right out of my Life," "Everything I Love" and "Last Night When We Were Young" were simply exquisite ballad singing. WHen it comes to swinging, she is right on top of the game. Good examples of that facet of her artistry were "You Turned the Tables on Me" and "A Fine Romance." When Fredette finished the second act with "Old Devil Moon," you sat there feeling that you were experiencing the end of one of those evenings that you hoped would go on forever.
Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz, December 2009

CAUGHT IN THE ACT, a review of Carol Fredette's CD release performance at THE IRIDIUM, February 4th, 2009
"Carol Fredette is among the upper echelon of current jazz vocalists. Fredette really gets to the heart of a lyric...she is an enthusiastic and free-spirited presence, filled with inventive artistry and good humor. Fredette invests her material with the kind of freshness that she brings to every song she chooses to sing. Her enthusiastically received new album, "Everything In Time," on Soundbrush Records, and the great word of mouth from performances like those at The Iridium, will put her into the spotlight that she deserves."
Joe Lang, Jazz Improv NY
Link to Complete Review

"Soundbrush Records has snared one of New York's vocal legends, and produced one of the most notable sessions of the year. Versatility is a tired word among music writers, but it must be employed when alluding to Fredette's vast Brazilian repertoire and her enormous success recording the hip humor of Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough. This great breadth of conquests is one of the reasons Fredette has become one of Gotham's leading teachers of vocal music aspirants. From the torrid opener (Dorough's "Without Rhyme Or Reason") to standards such as Porter's "Dream Dancing" and Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight" to Brazilian classics such as Jobim's "Vivo Sonhando" to Kenny Loggins' "Wait A Little While," Fredette gives listeners a lesson in the art of performing a comprehensive repertoire. All of the elements are there – poetic phrasing, emotional intensity and sheer musicality."
-Nick Catalano, author of New York Nights, music critic, educator
Link to Complete Review

"Everything's here...Carol sings her way through 15 songs that will thrill you as it did me. "I Wish I Knew" (Gordon-Warren) swings as never before. "Last Night When We Were Young" (Arlen-Harburg)...an absolute vocal masterpiece, almost spoken at times, conveying the true meaning and understanding of Harburg's exquisite, everlasting poetry. Her novel and original approach on "Pieces Of Dreams" will leave you breathless. Carol understands the great songs she sings, and it certainly shows in this absolutely perfect and faultless long-awaited feel-good CD."
In Tune International

JAZZ REVIEW: Carol Fredette
"Carol Fredette has always been a singer who gets to the essence of a song, but this album keeps you enraptured on many other levels, too. There is the sense of intimacy throughout, the almost talk-sing phrasing on the ballads and the carefree joy of swinging on several Brazilian tunes and a jazz standard or two. Fredette draws you inside yourself on ballads like "Would You Believe?" (Cy Coleman-James Lipton) and "Last Night When We Were Young" (Harold Arlen-Yip Harburg). Then she turns witty and sunny on a fast samba such as "O Pato (The Duck) by Jayme Shilva and Neuza Teixeira, with English lyrics by Jon Hendricks. "A Fine Romance" by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields bounces along comfortably and shows how casually artful Fredette is with the irony of the lyrics."
Owen Cordle, News & Observer
Link to Complete Review

"She's as good as they come"
Stan Getz

"Carol Fredette is everything you need in a jazz singer. She thinks, swings and phrases like a creative instrumentalist, yet her way with words captures the essence of a lyric."
Dan Morgenstern, author, jazz historian and critic  

"Miss Fredette brings a bracingly taut sense of line, perfect diction and fine-tuned dynamics to everything she touches…"
Stephen Holden, New York Times  

"You spend aeons trying to find other jazz singers who can cut her. You never find them. She's simply in a class by herself."
Nicholas Catalano, All About Jazz  

"One of the most formidable singers of popular music."
New York Daily News  

"Deep, spicy and silky voiced… sensual and funny. When she sings, the concentration is total, the emotions heartbreaking."
Renaud Machart, Le Monde   

"She's both a skillful, inventive improviser and a good story-teller—by no means a common combination among jazz singers."
Peter Keepnews, New York Post  

"Sublime enunciation and skilled dynamics…highly stylized, albeit understated…witty and sophisticated, does it all without gimmicks and with a sound that belongs only to her."
John Hogland, Backstage  

"Remarkably, she maintains a delicate but controlled equilibrium of dynamics, phrasing, tone, tasteful use of freedom, and wonderful sense of swing."
Dr.Herb Wong, Jazz Educator's Journal  

"She delivers a performance as definitive and riveting as any I've ever heard."
Alan Bargebuhr, Cadence Magazine

"Carol Fredette generated power through understatement…she swings hard…an uncommonly musical vocalist."
Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe    

"She uses husky tones of her voice and her strong, rich bottom range with excellent effect, making dark, cavernous descents that have an impact like Harry Carney's baritone saxophone."
John Wilson, New York Times  

"She's an intensely musical singer. Her voice is strong and supple, able to explore extremes of register and color. She combines imagination with an acute ear…enfolding her listeners in a mantle of warm intimacy. Unforgettable."
Richard Sudhalter, New York Post  

"Fredette sings like a woman possessed. When Al Cohn and Fredette get into the act, Milestones swings as never before."
Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner

"Her versatile voice purred softly and mixed Portuguese scat to a hot Latin beat…Fredette joined (Carol) Sloane for a set-closing jam, which the two voices heated up like saxophones locked in battle at an after hours cutting session."
J.Royal Stokes, Washington Post  

"Hank Jones/Al Cohn quintet, featuring vocalist Carol Fredette, bassist Michael Moore and drummer Charlie Persip...there isn't a weak link among them. More important is how well they mix"
Stuart Troup, Newsday  

"Brilliant and always compelling, performed with a sense of taste and deep emotion that just wipes you out. She is pure magic."
Westsider  

"A remarkable lady – a real "jazz woman" – an absolute must."
Jean-Michel Reisser, One More Time-Geneva, Switzerland  

"Staggeringly powerful."
Jim Baxter, Spectator Magazine  

"Carol Fredette recalls greatness in the art of jazz singing."
Owen Cordle, Jazz Times  

"Miss Fredette's reading of the Kern songs was so luminous that….I only wish that she and (Steve) Kuhn might record a two-album set before a live audience so that everyone could own a definitive interpretation of this great songwriter's work."
R.C. Smith, Durham Morning Herald                   

"She's first and foremost a brilliant vocalist."
Backstage

Album Reviews: