My Conversation With Jazz Vocalist Gail Wynters

With Gail Wynters
I was playing a gig at Giuseppe's Ristorante Italiano last night and noticed a blonde lady sitting at the bar, having coffee, and listening to me play. It was hard to see in the dimly lit room. She looked a lot like the fine jazz singer Gail Wynters, but I couldn't tell for sure. Fifteen or twenty years ago Ms. Wynters sat in with me on a gig, but we haven't played together since.

Because I wasn't positive that it was Ms. Wynters, I took a break and, through my sound system, played a Gail Wynters recording from my iPod and watched her closely to see her expression. I chose to play her version of "How Deep Is The Ocean", a cut from her "Boogie To Heaven" cd. I started the track, and within four beats, she lit up with a big smile, laughed, and said "I can't believe you are playing that! That's Dr. John playing the piano intro." It WAS Ms. Wynters!

We then had a wonderful conversation about music, musical venues, and musicians. She described some of her recording projects and talked a little about the time she spent singing in New York. Before I began my next set, she gave me a copy of her latest cd, one that has yet to be released. It is a fine recording featuring her, the fantastic pianist Roger Kellaway, and the great bassist Jay Leonhart. I sure enjoyed our conversation, the cd, and am hoping that we perform together onstage sometime soon. What a treat for me! She is great.