Songstress Faye Carol to Release 20-Track Collection “Forever Dynamic” on April 17th, 2026 | LISTEN!
BAY AREA LEGEND “THE DYNAMIC MISS FAYE CAROL”
RELEASES 2-DISC JAZZ & FUNK-TINGED COLLECTION
FOREVER DYNAMIC
Releasing April 17, 2026 on Getdown Records
Although beloved in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades, vocalist FAYE CAROL has yet to receive the national recognition her extraordinary career merits. A leader on nine albums and a featured artist on more than a dozen others, she now makes a compelling case for broader acclaim with the release of her tenth recording, FOREVER DYNAMIC—a 20-song collection showcasing her inimitable interpretations of jazz, blues, and gospel-infused classics.
Carol moved to the Bay Area from Mississippi in her early teens and recorded her debut release in 1967. Dubbed “The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol” for her commanding voice and seamless weaving of Black musical traditions into a singular artistic tapestry, she has long been a fixture in local media. The San Francisco Chronicle praised her as “steeped in jazz, blues, and R&B,” noting that she “turns every performance into a triumph,” while the San Jose Mercury News declared, “Every Faye Carol performance is a master class — a deep dive into the soul-steeped marrow of jazz and blues.” Radio station KQED has called her “the hardest-working live musician in the East Bay.”
Though not yet a household name, Carol’s resume is formidable. She has shared the stage with an extraordinary roster of jazz and pop luminaries, including Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, Gary Bartz, Houston Person, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Joan Baez, Albert King, and Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, among many others.
Her honors include the 2026 Comcast Black Joy Parade Icons Among Us Award, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund Creative Power Award, the Richmond Rainbow Pride Black Excellence Award in Music, the City of Berkeley Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Jazz Journalists Association Bay Area Jazz Hero Award. The city of Oakland proclaimed “Faye Carol Day” on June 14, 2024, and Berkeley did the same on March 13, 2018.
Carol’s impact extends well beyond performance. She founded School of the Getdown, an organization dedicated to celebrating and preserving Black arts traditions through performance and education. Now in its 26th year, the organization offers vocal workshops, private instruction, masterclasses with visiting artists, a summer Youth Arts Camp, an annual Black Women’s Roots Festival, and a 10-week after-school intensive program for young performers.
For FOREVER DYNAMIC, Carol collaborated with some of the country’s finest musicians. Pianist and musical director JOE WARNER, her longtime collaborator of more than 13 years, co-produced and co-arranged the project—marking their first recording together. Warner’s credits include Houston Person, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Herlin Riley, Mary Stallings, Billy Hart, Buster Williams, Gary Bartz, to name a few. New York bassist TARUS MATEEN, known for his work with Jason Moran and the Bandwagon, as well as in R&B and hip-hop, brings depth and versatility, while Baltimore drummer DENNIS CHAMBERS of Santana and Parliament-Funkadelic fame contributes his signature blend of jazz fusion, funk, and Latin influences.
The repertoire reflects songs Carol has carried with her for years. “I haven’t worried much about convention,” she explains. “These songs have been with me for so long, I just wanted to record them so people could hear them. Joe and I share the same musical mind, so capturing this material felt natural.”
Her brassy, emotionally resonant voice anchors the collection. Never content to stand still, Carol has continually evolved—absorbing gospel, soul, R&B, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and cabaret into a style that resists easy categorization. She avoids labels like “jazz singer” or “blues singer,” insisting that “music is in the ear of the beholder.”
The album blends beloved standards with lesser-known gems. She opens with a funky, blues-inflected take on “Hello Young Lovers,” transforms “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Unforgettable” into soulful declarations, injects swagger into “Fine and Mellow” and “Nature Boy,” cools the mood with a tender reading of “Ceora,” and showcases her bebop agility on “Groovin’ High.” The album closes with “I Rise, I Rise, Still I Rise,” adapted from a poem by Maya Angelou and set to music by Carol and Warner.
Faye Carol is an esteemed matriarch on the San Francisco Bay Area jazz and blues scene. She is admired for both the joyous music she makes and for her steadfast commitment to Black American music in all its different manifestations. Her repertoire is replete with jazz and blues standards, Latin jazz and even hip-hop, connecting all the common Black roots of American popular music. Warner’s hip and earthy piano stylings create a synergistic partnership with Carol that complements and elevates the music.
Over the years, Carol has changed with the times, incorporating a wide range of styles and genres in her imaginative renditions. With FOREVER DYNAMIC, she affirms what Bay Area audiences have known for decades: her artistry is timeless, fearless, and uniquely her own.
FOREVER DYNAMIC will be released on April 17, 2026 on Getdown Records and will be available digitally on all platforms. Physical CDs and vinyl will be available at Bandcamp.
Online:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faye_Carol
Fayecarol.com
Facebook.com/thedynamicmiss
IG: @thedynamicmiss
YouTube Channel: Youtube.com/fayecarol
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