Gretchen Parlato

ABOUT

Since the early 2000s, award-winning vocalist and songwriter Gretchen Parlato has earned a reputation as one of the most inventive and mesmerizing jazz vocalists of her generation. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and a graduate of LACHSA and UCLA, Parlato moved to New York City after graduating as the first vocalist to attend the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance. 

Soon after, she won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition, quickly building momentum touring globally with her quartet and releasing several acclaimed albums, including her self-titled debut and Live in NYC (ObliqSound, 2013), which earned a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

After sixteen years on the East Coast, she returned to Los Angeles with her husband, Mark Guiliana and son, Marley. In 2023, Parlato released Lean In (Edition Records), a duo collaboration with Benin-born guitarist Lionel Loueke.Celebrated for its fusion of cultures, languages, and friendship, the project earned her third GRAMMY® nomination in 2024 for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Her deep affinity for Brazilian music inspired Flor (2021), which received her second GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, won the German Jazz Award for International Vocal Album of the Year, and was named one of the top five jazz albums of 2021 by Jazzwise, The Guardian, and Amazon. Her earlier albums also drew wide acclaim—The Lost and Found (2011) co-produced by Robert Glasper, garnered over 30 national and international awards, including the DownBeat Jazz Critics Poll No. 1 Vocal Album of the Year and iTunes Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, while her sophomore release In a Dream (2009) was named JazzTimes Critics Poll Vocal Album of the Year and hailed by Billboard as “the most alluring jazz vocal album of 2009.” Along with her own projects, Parlato has been a featured guest on over 100 recordings. 

Parlato is a dedicated educator on faculty at UCLA, continuing to nurture the next wave of jazz innovators. Most recently, she released the single “If It Was” with John Clayton, Gerald Clayton, and composer, Alan Hampton, honoring Altadena in the aftermath of the Eaton fire. Her forthcoming album, The Wise Ones (Edition Records) brings her back together with a close group of longtime collaborators from her earliest recordings, including co-producer Alan Hampton, Robert Glasper, Gerald Clayton, and Mark Guiliana. The project also features special guest appearances from vocalists Meshell Ndegeocello, Becca Stevens, and Moonchild’s Amber Navran, creating a rich, cross-generational musical chemistry.

Parlato has performed on stages around the world, from iconic venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center to major festivals including Montreal, North Sea, and London Jazz Festivals. She was recently a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, has served as a voice professor at the Manhattan School of Music, and remains deeply committed to education, leading workshops and masterclasses internationally.