press and media

Kris Gayle has a fascinating voice and is a very good talent. Her latest album is well worth a listen.  SIR MICHAEL PARKINSON, JANUARY 2009

Kris Gayle '8.00 am' - one of the top ten Jazz Albums of the Year.
JACK MASSARIK, JAZZWISE MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2008

Kris Gayle '8.00 am'. Never assume that London monopolises British jazz talent, especially with sounds as sophisticated as these arriving from funky Falmouth.  Startled by the opening track, Blue in Green, I searched for the likes of George Duke, Stanley Clarke or Nancy Wilson among the credits, finding instead local heroes such as keyboarder/arranger Viv Rodd, drummer/bass guitarist/producer Damian Rodd and singer Kris Gayle.  Her vocal interpretations of All Blues, I’m All Smiles and It Never Entered My Mind are simply top-class.  Luscious brass arrangements and expert sound-mixing add further Cornish cream to this unexpected treat.
JACK MASSARIK, LONDON EVENING STANDARD JUNE 2008
(JAZZ CD OF THE WEEK **** (4 stars out of 5)

Kris Gayle '8.00 am'. One of the West Country's leading female jazz vocalists, Kris has developed a reputation as a performer of taste, technique and class. This set offers a stunning mix of standards and originals, and is destined to add to her already formidable standing.
MUSICIAN MAGAZINE, SUMMER 2008

Her new CD '8.00am' begins with a dreamy blissed-out version of 'Blue in Green' and includes memorable interpretations of Ray Brown's Grammy-winning 'Gravy Waltz', Cannonball Adderley's 'Sermonette' and an unbelievably tender 'Some Other Time'.  Kris Gayle has an immensely likeable tone, an alluring way with ballads, and a dramatic credibility.  I think it's only fair that the metropolis should get a taste of this fine singer, too.
PETER QUINN, JAZZWISE MAGAZINE, MAY 2008

Here is a favourite singer singing a favourite song - Kris Gayle and 'It Never Entered My Mind', from her new album '8.00am'.  She has a voice which really stays in the mind.
HUMPHREY LYTTELTON, "THE BEST OF JAZZ" BBC RADIO 2008

Kris Gayle's new CD "8.00 am" is a gem, with stylish singing, a wonderful mix of standards and compositions by jazz artists, and first rate musicianship.
BOB COLLINS WRHU RADIO, HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK, USA

8.00 am is a disc on which Kris Gayle shows her high quality as a jazz singer.  It is a great album.
JOSEP PALMADA, RADIO VILAFANT, SPAIN

What a voice, really great!
KJELL ANDREASSEN, RADIO HOLSTEBRO, DENMARK

’Dedicated to you’ is a warming live album by two locally respected, experienced jazz artists from Cornwall. Viv Rodd on keyboards and intimately engaging singer Kris Gayle work well together playing attractively flowing standards.
JAZZWISE 2004

The Cornwall-based duo of Kris Gayle and Viv Rodd, who are surely one of that region’s best kept secrets, have released a new album, ‘Dedicated to You’. I have chosen to play ‘A Sleepin’ Bee’, and I don’t hesitate to say that this song, and indeed the album as a whole, is worthy of attention well beyond the boundaries of the West Country.
HUMPHREY LYTTELTON, “THE BEST OF JAZZ” BBC RADIO 2004

Charles Mingus’s ‘Weird Nightmare’ certainly isn’t the kind of tune you’d call a standard, and not a lot of singers tackle it, which makes this recording by a Cornish-based duo all the more welcome. Here is Mingus in Cornwall, where he sounds right at home, with ‘Weird Nightmare’ stylishly delivered by the classy duo of Kris Gayle and Viv Rodd.
GEOFFREY SMITH, BBC RADIO 3 JAZZ RECORD REQUESTS  2004

The St Ives Jazz Club’s contribution to the September Festival was the beautiful vocal tones of local lady Kris Gayle, backed by the accomplished Viv Rodd trio. Because of the sold-out concert by Ralph McTell at the nearby Guildhall on the same night I was expecting it to be quiet at the jazz club, but was amazed to see the Great Room heaving with jazz lovers. Kris usually concentrates on standards, but on this occasion there were also some original compositions, culminating in a truly great second set.
ST IVES TIMES AND ECHO

Down in West Cornwall, Kris Gayle, a fine jazz singer, currently has a new album out. Miss Gayle, whose father is West Indian, comes from Liverpool and much admires Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. Her 5-piece band is called Gayle Force, and with the slightest bit of luck, she clearly has star quality.
MELODY MAKER

Kris Gayle and Gayle Force are a five piece multi-instrumental band which is the most sought-after in the whole of the South West region. They are great favourites with Western TV audiences, many of whom enjoyed her in a recent ‘Down the Line’ programme.
THE STAGE

Gayle Force, featuring lead singer Kris Gayle and four male musicians offers an attractive mixture of soft soul and contempo music, with frequent stylish ventures into jazz, a form often disdained here. Gayle has a warm, sexy very professional voice and moves very well, earning her fine reception. The group will tour Europe before returning to Cornwall next summer.
VARIETY (USA)

Singer Kris Gayle, who has been fronting her own band for a year now, makes her fourth TV appearance tomorrow. She will sing ‘Kansas City Blues’ and ‘Summertime’ in a BBC 1 programme featuring the Ian Wheeler/Keith Smith Jazz Band.
THE WEST BRITON

Kris Gayle is a girl who is turning a lot of heads in Cornwall. It’s not only her good looks, but also the way she sings. Backed by Matrix, a versatile 4 piece jazz group, Kris is very much in demand in the South West region. Kris was born in Liverpool; her mother is Irish, her father West Indian, and having moved down from London she now lives in Hayle, Cornwall.
THE INDEPENDENT