Carla Cook is a native of Detroit, Michigan. She is a vocalist and songwriter now living in Brooklyn, New York.
At age five, Carla began singing in her church choir. From there, with her desire to perform and record professionally firmly established, she spent the next several years receiving the basic training needed for her career in music.
She studied voice at the Detroit Community Music School and also studied piano and string bass for several years where she played the latter in her high school symphony orchestra. While a student at Cass Technical High School, she was selected to participate in the All Stars Honors Choir, and an Australian Tour sponsored by Musical Youth International.
In 1980, Carla moved to Boston, Massachusetts to pursue a degree in Speech Communication at Northeastern University, and to further develop her musical skills through study and performance.
Presently, Carla can be seen performing in nightclubs, recital and concert halls, festivals, churches and other public and private forums. She can be heard on a variety of studio recordings including jingles, and commercial recordings. As a private vocal instructor and clinician, in 1993-94 she served as a guest vocal and ensemble instructor at the Jazzschule Basel (Switzerland) and at the Jazz & Rock Schule Freiburg (Germany), countries where she also toured and conducted workshops extensively. Carla can also be heard singing during the opening credits of the film "Naked Acts".
Though many recognize Carla as primarily a jazz vocalist, her vocal stylings are truly versatile. Gospel, Pop, European Classical, Blues, R&B - including of course the "Motown Sound" have all been influential.
Living in New York, Carla had the possibility to work with many of the great performers in jazz. Just a few names: Billy Hart, Alan Dawson, Cecil Bridgewater, Mino Cinelu, Gene Jackson, Branford Marsalis, Lonnie Plaxico, Miroslav Vitous, Greg Osby, Don Byron, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Mark Whitfield, Victor Bailey, Lenny White, Cyrus Chestnut, Vanessa Rubin, Antonio Hart, Robin Eubanks, Slide Hampton, Najee, the list goes on.