Jeffrey Gimble - Beyond Up High (2013)

With the plethora of female vocalists producing new albums these days, it is indeed refreshing to hear a new male voice sure to make an impact in the jazz world, and that's just what L.A. singer Jeffrey Gimble is certain to accomplish with his stunning debut Beyond Up High. Whether voicing sweet ballads, delivering a few choice scats or belting out a swinging song, his performance is powerful and convincing. One thing that's easy to discern after just one sampling of Beyond Up High is that vocalist Jeffrey Gimble makes one heck of an entrance into the jazz world, with an impressive debut that's beyond good; it's quite frankly, terrific in style, swing and swagger. --Edward Blanco, All About Jazz

Gimble combines a wide-open stage reading of a cornucopia of standards, not-so-standards, and an original, everything presented with a deft immersion in be-bop, lounge, scat, Michael Franks-ish romanticism, and an element neither I nor critic/liner-notes writer Don Heckman nor anyone can nail down. As accessible as every song on this CD is, there's yet a mystique present, a phantom something this guy possesses that's rare. I think, though, that I'm kinda onto it. I suspect it's that same something Sammy Davis Jr. possessed: the Entertainer Element. Yep, the Entertainer Element, long thought extinct but seen here and there in cats like Robert Kraft and others, now suddenly erupting full-blown in Jeffrey Gimble. It's the only thing that explains the matter. --Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

I am smart enough to realize when you may have hit Michel Buble' first blood part two and with better jazz chops to boot...Gimble has a tone, an inflection in his voice seldom heard today and certainly not at this high level ...Gimble can go from joyous scatting to a blues infused ballad and do so with minimal effort. From "All The Things You Are" to Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Agua de Beber" the ebb and flow of variety is at times breathtaking. Toss in Chick Corea's "High Wire" and Bill Withers'"Ain't No Sunshine" than you have a solid release that can, will and should stand the test of time. One of the best for 2013. Remember the name Jeffrey Gimble. --Brent Black, Critical Jazz