Faye Carol

Faye Carol is an American singer in the tradition of jazz, blues, gospel and R&B, known as the Dynamic Miss Faye Carol.

Early life Carol was born in Meridian, Mississippi. and toured nationally with the gospel group The Angelaires. niece to jazz saxophonist Lester Young, and was mentored by her soon-to-be husband, musician, composer, and educator Jim Gamble.

Biography After winning a talent contest at the Oakland Auditorium, Faye Carol began her professional career performing with the Oakland funk pioneers Johnny Talbot & De Thangs. She won Top Star Awards 'Best Singer' in 1968 and performed at local venues in the mid-1960s. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she worked for Bill Graham performing with Johnny Talbot & De Thangs at The Fillmore and Winterland Ballroom, opening for Otis Redding, James Brown, Martha and the Vandellas, Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane. The Caracole, and the Alta Plaza. Carol was awarded the Cabaret Gold Awards in 1978, 1983, and 1984. In 1977, she toured the West Coast with Marvin Gaye, Melba Moore, and L.T.D.. She released her albums Classic Caroling in 1982 and Alive at the Great American Music Hall in 1985.

Carol soon became known as a Betty Carter or Art Blakey alongside John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Ed Kelly, Troy Lampkins, Pharoah Sanders, and E.W. Wainwright. In 1990 she released The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol and in 1996, she released The Flow with the Kito Gamble Trio, featuring Billy Higgins. in Berkeley, California Her vocal proteges include Ledisi and Kehlani. In 2000, she founded the organization School of the Getdown, with the mission to celebrate and promote Black music and share these cultural traditions with diverse Bay Area communities, with particular attention towards youth and the Black community. The School of the Getdown offers vocal workshops, annual Black History Month lecture-performances in local schools, an after school youth arts program, an annual summer Youth Arts Camp, and presents concerts, festivals, and commissioned artistic works including the annual Black Women's Roots Festival.

In 2008 she released Faye Sings Lady Day (Live at Yoshi's), and in 2009 she released Carolizing Christmas, followed by Faye Sings Lady Day Volume 2 (Live at Yoshi's) in 2014. She appeared in the 2017 documentary film Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland's Music Legacy. Forever Dynamic, a double CD featuring Dennis Chambers, Tarus Mateen, and Joe Warner, was released on Getdown Records in April 2026. Faye Sings The Blues, a double CD featuring Taj Mahal (musician), Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, Robert Randolph, Eric Gales, Jubu Smith, Wycliffe Gordon, James Carter (musician), Russell Gunn, Jon Faddis, Nicholas Payton, and Tia Fuller, was released on Getdown Records in August 2026.

Discography As a Leader

As a Contributor