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And You Say...? |
Ella Jane Fitzgerald |
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75% |
[ 3 ] |
Eleanora Fagan |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
Sarah Lois Vaughan |
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25% |
[ 1 ] |
Ruth Lee Jones |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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Total Votes : 4 |
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Genero36
Joined: 24 Apr 2005 Posts: 11188
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 66880 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 01/18/18 9:42 pm ::: |
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Al Jolson?
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Genero36
Joined: 24 Apr 2005 Posts: 11188
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Posted: 01/18/18 10:38 pm ::: |
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pilight wrote: |
Al Jolson? |
I don't mean of all-time (although I think one of them has that title. I just won't say which one yet). I'm asking about who is the best singer of the four options listed.
_________________ I'm all for the separation of church and hate.
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jammerbirdi
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 21045
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Posted: 01/19/18 1:03 pm ::: |
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Billie or Sarah. None of the others are in that stratosphere in terms of JAZZ. Certainly Ella is the icon of popular jazz but musicians have always placed Billie on a different pedestal altogether because of what she actually did with the music and her voice. The contrast there is informative. Ella sang melodies almost as they were written. Billie sang melodies with rhythmic and melodic embellishments, phrasing, etc. much as a jazz horn player would play the melody. Add TO that is the fact that Billie's 'embellishments' of song melodies is on a level that places her firmly in the class of some of the all-time great horn players like Lester Young or Miles Davis. That makes her a jazz artist, an artist of jazz, the art form, of the highest order.
But, her voice was like a raggedy thing in comparison to these great voices like Ella or Sarah Vaughan. So it comes down to what matters to you, the listener. If a pretty voice is your thing, then Ella is your girl. If you are into jazz itself, seriously into it, then you might (I say MIGHT) be more inclined to Billie Holiday.
So a little more on Ella. Ella, of course, (I think) really brought 'scat singing' to the forefront of jazz and popular singing. It was her thing. What that is is without words 'singing' jazz solo-like melodic improvisations. So hey, Billie didn't do that, you might be thinking. How could she be a better jazz singer? Here's the deal. When you scat sing a jazz solo, no matter how pretty your voice is or spot on your tone is, you WILL be judged by the quality of the jazz you are creating with your voice. And therein lies the rub for Ella. Her scats sound great. They work perfectly with the songs. No problems. But those melodic explorations are not even close to being interesting or thrilling to (most) jazz musicians. I say most, nothing I'm writing here speaks for everyone but I AM passing on things as they have been written and said for many decades among jazzers.
Sarah Vaughan is truly in a class by herself. She is everything. Incredible voice. Jazz artist of the first rank. Maybe some people don't like the richness of her voice. Just like a lot of people might think Billie Holiday sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Ella's light and pretty voice has always been a main draw to her singing. But for my money Sarah is the greatest of all time. The most talented. Greatest career within the art form of jazz of any singer ever. JMO.
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jammerbirdi
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 21045
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Posted: 01/19/18 1:06 pm ::: |
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I would put in an honorable mention for the supper club singer, Nancy Wilson. She should have been a much much bigger star than she was. She kind of had Dinah Washington's sound but she was a much better jazz singer. She really was a monster talent.
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jammerbirdi
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 21045
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005 Posts: 8225 Location: Heisenberg
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Posted: 01/19/18 11:13 pm ::: |
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Ella |
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sambista
Joined: 25 Sep 2004 Posts: 16951 Location: way station of life
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Posted: 01/20/18 6:58 am ::: |
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mark this date. i agree with every last thing jammer said. including about the national treasure who is nancy wilson.
for the brief time i taught english as a second language, my most successful class at the intermediate level used nancy wilson’s famous song - "guess who i saw today?" - as the framework for a lesson combining listening comprehension and recounting events. nancy wilson is marvelous at enunciation, which made her perfect for incorporating music into my lessons, and this particular song had the bonus of a little chronological twist that challenged the students.
interestingly, when the song came out in 1961, it was considered a dud. eventually, it became her most requested song. i’m especially fond of it because it’s such an apt timestamp of the/my early '60s, when "going into town" was a thing, and you did "shop around" and "have a bite." the song is full of great expressions. to my surprise, the class discussion detoured to a debate about fidelity . . .
the original tune:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HnxyIMTwqIM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
the tune with wilson’s now-famous monologue:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0wPKzLvqKDg" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
_________________ no justice, no peace.
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