The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, a Bay Area icon whose six-decade career spans jazz, blues, gospel, funk and more, continues to captivate audiences worldwide with her powerful voice, signature style and dedication to mentoring the next generation of musicians. She performs at the Orinda Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 7.
The Orinda Theatre unwraps a Christmas gift early when Faye Carol appears as part of the new and ongoing “Blues at the Orinda” series of live performances at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7.
Carol, originally from Meridian, Miss., is an East Bay treasure and music legend, a status achieved by her own distinct sound and authentic delivery which delights audiences young and old, whether singing jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, funk, Latin or hip-hop.
She has won numerous awards and released several recordings.
Carol knew from her early days she was born to sing; as a little girl with her grandmother at a hairdresser’s shop, with the dryer on, not realizing how loud she might sound, she would belt out a tune at the top of her voice.
She was surprised afterwards to be showered with tips from the adults present.
A taste of show business at an early age, she’d develop her skills further when her family moved to Pittsburg, CA, where she sang in the youth choir at the Solomon Temple Missionary Baptist Church.
She keenly listened to, and was inspired by, performers such as Ray Charles, with whom she would one day share a stage, learning from him that a singer didn’t have to have boundaries.
Carol could and can sing the blues, or cabaret, standards, jazz or bebop.
Armed with a memorable personality and a singular voice, after winning a talent contest in Oakland as a teenager in the 1960s, Carol has been performing ever since, often with such greats as Johnny Heartsman, Marvin Gaye, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bobby Hutcherson, Pharaoh Sanders, Joan Baez and Otis Redding.
Singing her heart out for audiences in any musical vein is not enough for Carol, who sees performance and music as a way to simultaneously entertain and educate.
She has dedicated much of her life to bringing music to children in schools with her programs like “Music in the Community,” an afterschool program she conducted in the East Bay for over 20 years and “Black Music Though the Ages.”
Motivated with the strong desire that the kids learn where Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles came from, both culturally and musically, Carol knows the vital importance of instilling the value of the past in the youth of the present.
Ensconced in musical fame and beloved as “The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol,” her show at the Orinda Theatre “Carolizing Christmas” will feature her “All Star String Quartet,” which promise sounds of the season – which are funky, fun and fresh.
See and hear for yourself on Dec. 7.
Tickets are $40 or $75 for VIP seating for the 5 p.m. show, Sunday, Dec. 7, available at orindamovies.com under the “Concerts/Comedy Events” tab.
