Painting by Stacy Morse
Listen or download a MP3 version of Across the Square, a Patty original from her CD This Time It's Love or give a listen to Under My Hat, from the CD of the same name.
"As heard on her recordings including "Memories of Love's Refrain" and "This Time It's Love," vocalist Patty Carpenter boasts an organic, relaxed, folk-like tone, an unerring rhythmic sense and masterly dynamic control. Carpenter's repertoire includes standards, blues, rock, gospel, ballads and Brazilian. When she's not fronting her own group, Carpenter performs with her ex-husband and their daughter, Melissa Shetler, as the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band." --Seth Rogovoy, The Berkshire Eagle and Rogovoy Report
"Patty Carpenter has a strong, clear and wonderfully buoyant trumpet-like voice and an affinity for long, swinging straight-ahead lines, like those of her favorite tenor saxophonists John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Wayne Shorter. She also has an ear for the emotional content of the lyrics. She sings to tell a story and find meaning in the words. ..there's a lot of Miles Davis' bittersweet blues in her version of Bye Bye Blackbird, and Billie Holiday-like behind the beat phrasing in I Can't Give You Anything but Love, and the other up tempo numbers... Whether you swooned to Sinatra or jitterbugged to Goodman, Miller, the Dorseys, and Count Basie, whether you are a twenty or thirty something, a teenage slacker, a generation 'X-er", or a baby boomer you are sure to be touched by the marvelous, lyrical singing of Patty Carpenter."---Marty Jezer, Record Review
"Patty Carpenter displays the casual professionalism that one would expect from someone who's worked the woods as a singer. ..She has an approach that clearly lets her shift from style to style without violating the essence of what she does. She knows and loves these songs. She's comfortable with them, and treats them all as good friends, taking them as they are and enlivening them gently. She doesn't bully them with ersatz hipness. She just keeps them company, and that hominess comes through to the listener. Her one original, Across the Square, gets that same treatment, easily fooling the listener into believing this, too, is a standard, albeit one not often heard. In fact, Carpenter so effectively puts her own song across that it is easily the highlight of the session, a song that when it arrives elicits a mental 'ahh.' -David Dupont, Cadence Magazine
PATTY CARPENTER is an acclaimed vocalist and pianist whose versatile repertoire includes favorites from the 1920's to the present. She performs jazz, swing, rock, blues, Motown, pop, and originals. Patty grew up playing the guitar and piano during the 1960s in Rochester, New York. She also listened to folk, (and played bottleneck guitar at local coffeehouses) rock and jazz, with Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae among her favorite singers. At the University of Massachusetts she studied in the jazz program under such master musicians and teachers as Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Billy Taylor and Reggie Workman. It was Workman who advised, "if you want to sing the music, learn the history."
Patty has played a wide variety of gigs throughout New England and New York. She performs regularly at clubs, colleges, weddings, elementary schools, corporate parties, community centers, restaurants, lounges, senior centers and other venues.
We've just released Under My Hat,
a new CD that features dynamic jazz vocal harmonies with Patty
Carpenter and her daughter, Melissa Shetler. It also features
Scott Shetler,
Melissa's dad and legendary Boston performer and session man (and
author of the title tune, "Under My Hat"), on saxophone
and clarinet and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band. Patty and
Melissa have been playing out together for years and Scott has
played on some of Patty's previous recordings. They all met on
the banks of the Delaware with a fabulous group of musicians,
culled from New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maryland and
recorded this dynamite album. Songs: Careless Love, Satellites,
Watch What Happens, Rico Vacilon, Glory of Love, Ponta De Areia,
Moanin', They Can't Take That Away From Me, Under My Hat, All
the Things You Are, Another Star, Angel from Montgomery.
5/9/02 Brattleboro Reformer Article on Patty, Melissa, Scott and the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band.
Patty
and Melissa on stage at the !!th Street Bar, New York City
Click here for pictures from the Under My Hat CD Release Party at the Parkside Lounge in New York City.
Patty's CD release, This
Time It's Love, was two years in the making and features a
wide selection of tunes including This Time, Lover Man, Black
Orpheus, All Blues, Ain't got Nothin' but the Blues, I Thought
About You, 5-10-15, I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free,
as well as her original song, Across the Square. Patty
is backed by a dynamite band featuring Tom McClung, piano; Dave
Shapiro, bass; Draa Hobbs, guitar; Bob Hamilton, piano; Scott
Shetler, sax & clarinet; and Doug Raneri, drums.
Read what people are saying about This Time It's Love.
Patty Carpenter's 1996 recording of mainstream jazz favorites, Memories
of Love's Refrain, was very well received when it was released
as a cassette. In November, 2001, we re-released it as a CD and
it's been getting great reivews and airplay. Songs include Star
Dust, Undecided, When I Grow Too Old to Dream, It Had to Be You,
I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Moonlight Becomes You, Small
Fry, and Bye Bye Blackbird.
Patty & the Cakes is a 5-7 piece jazz and rock dance band, specializing in weddings and parties, with the occasional club date. It is a versatile combo that can get any audience and all ages up and dancing. One bride wrote: "Thank you for doing an amazing job on our wedding. The music made the reception perfect. I can't tell you how happy we were with the great job you did. Our song was wonderful and you got everyone dancing-old and young alike. You were worth every penny (and probably more!)."
Patty & the
Cakes prepare for another wedding
The Radio Swing Orchestra, a big band playing swing music, also features Patty's vocals.In addition to these groups, she performs solo and works in duo and trio ensembles.
Description of Music/Poetry
Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, and Sarah Vaughn Concert
For more information or to book Patty Carpenter, please write or call Charles Light at:
PO Box 229, Turners Falls, MA 01376 · (413) 863-4754 /774-6242 · Fax: (413) 863-8248 · clight@gmpfilms.com
"Patty Carpenter really knocked me out. Talk about laid back! She has a very warm and inviting voice, and knows how to use it to great effect. The musicians she hangs around with are no slouches either." -Lenny Mazel, Jazz Director, KCME, Colorado Springs
"Her voice is light and swinging and has a natural haunting quality that helps her put across songs. She mostly stays away from the usual jazz singer's repertoire for fresher stuff like the swooping This Time, a hypnotic reading of All Blues ,and a bluesy original, Across the Square. There's also a Brazilian samba, rocking rhythm and blues, and gospel, all of which Carpenter handles effortlessly in an eclectic and very entertaining session."-Jerome Wilson, Cadence Magazine
"Patty Carpenter sings with a lot of soul. Evidence of her sensitivity and experience of having lived, rather than merely learned the music, permeates every track of her new CD This Time It's Love. Opening with a relaxed but inspiring rendition of a rarely performed composition by the great songwriter, Jule Styne, Patty gives a sweet taste of her alto voice. This track provides a preview of the superb performance Patty delivers throughout the album, and the kind of laid-back grooves and great intensity that characterizes almost the entire album.. Patty demonstrates her broad range of dynamics, from the whispering articulations on the classic Lover Man to the down home, grinding gut-bucket sounds Patty offers on the slow backbeat rendition of Across the Square and All Blues.. I Thought About You, a beautiful ballad, is one of the highlights of this date...There's about 58 minutes worth of music on this CD and all of it is worth every penny."--Eric Nemeyer, The Green Mountain Jazz Messenger
"I really like Patty Carpenter. She's not a copy of anyone. She has a unique voice that is really appealing."-Paul Roy, Winthrop Big Band & Jazz Festival
"I was totally knocked out by the vocals. What a voice....I flat out loved it...Patty Carpenter was an epiphany for me."-Larry Routt, Music Programmer, WOBO, Cincinnati, OH
"What a voice. Carpenter covers Miles Davis and Duke Ellington and weighs in with the original composition Across The Square (for Fritz). The best easy-listening disc of the year. "-Springfield Union News Top Ten Local Albums
"I am sooooooo glad I opened this packet this afternoon. I have been inundated with half finished CDs, demos, and the usual assortment that creates an apology/rejection slip, and this made the whole day nicer. I admit being addicted to those old jazz standards, and rarely will anyone get a better chance to enjoy them than when Patty's voice is caressing your ears. Patty has a wonderful voice, soft, silky, slightly smoky, with enough air to inflate my ego on a bad day. What I am saying here, is Wow! Amazing sweet and masterful piano and organ by Tom McClung, great sax work by Scott Shetler, and perfect time/rhythm courtesy of Doug Raneri. And please, don't forget those sweet licks by Draa Hobbs on guitar. From the jazziest, prettiest, lightest licks, to the fattest, fullest chords, I loved every minute of this recording. If you Love Jazz at it's finest, come on home for Christmas (or any other soft and sensual moment) with Patty's masterpiece." -Airmusic.com
"Supple jazz vocalist who matches bluesy inflections with a cool tone in a way that compares favorably to Susannah McCorkle. Carpenter's voice is matched by a tasty small jazz group; she's usually her own accompanist (a la Diana Krall or Shirley Horn), but the very fine Tom McClung tinkles the ivories here." -Nick D. , listen.com
"For her third recording (the previous two, No Regrets and Memories of Love's Refrain, were available only on vinyl and cassette,respectively), New Englander Carpenter showcases a flexible, supple, sweet, at times bluesy voice that is childlike, full of fascination and wonder about the world at large... She really shineson "I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues..." "Black Orpheus" is done nicely in Portugese and English, while the near-ten-minute funky groove biscuit "5-10-15" shows a more R&B-influenced side. Scott Shetler (playing tenor, baritone, clarinet, etc.) and pianist Tom McClung are excellent soloists and supportive accompanists." -Michael G. Nastos getmusic.com
"A vocalist of obvious talent, Ms. Carpenter can crinkle her warbly voice into a good approximation of Billie Holiday cynicism or let fly with a clearer tone to cut through all manner of barroom haze." -Dave Reitzes, March 2001
"Sometimes a piano bar is all it takes. Something simple. Something elegant. Something like Patty Carpenter. Carpenter's straightforward vocals, accompanied by her jazzy, clean piano playing, complement your mood, no matter what it is. Blues for the melancholy. Pop for the happy. Jazz for the mellow; jazz for the jagged. Her vocal range and piano versatility do justice to all kinds of music, and have garnered her a loyal following from all across the generational spectrum."---The Optimist Weekly, Northampton, MA
"Patty Carpenter has garnered a loyal following. Her fans follow her like the Pied Piper, confident that at the end of the trail lies a good time, and the chance to cut loose with some of the area's most danceable music."---Leisure Weekly, Keene, NH
"Outstanding vocal performances"---Valley Advocate, Amherst, MA
Patty's Music for Seniors Program
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