[Aimless1]

Had to take Diana Krall followed closely by Ella.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif So who is your female Jazz singer?

Dinah Washington and early Kay Starr

See ya
Steve

 

[Kees]

Shirley Horn.

 

[pdennis]

Gotta be Sarah. Listening to "Lullaby of Birdland" off of her album with Clifford Brown right now; man that's sweet.

Krall and Wilson are talented but their music doesn't sound like jazz to me. I know Wilson used to do some stuff with Steve Coleman and Henry Threadgill; I'd love to get my hands on some of that.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Sarah for me. None of the others even comes close in terms of my emotional attachment, although they're all great. In fact, it could have just as easily been any one of them that grabbed me that way she did years ago. I think with female jazz singers more so that any other musical genre, people tend to have rather strong emotional/romantic sorts of attachments to certain voices. So my premise is that any one of them could have grabbed me, it just so happens that she did and her voice melts my heart every time I hear it.

 

[jsaliga]

There are some great ones mentioned to be sure, but I don't see how you can have a discussion about female jazz vocalists without mention of Anita O'Day, Hellen Humes, Etta Jones, Rosemary Clooney, Annie Ross, Helen Merrill, Pearl Bailey, and Blossom Dearie.

--Jerome

 

[Akabeth]

I haven't heard much Jazz in my life but I heard some by Ella Fitzgerald

 

[tohni]

Cannot choose between many of the options. Diana Krall, however, shouldn't even be on this list IMO; she's so - BAH! "Oh yeah, I'm so jazzy, and MY songs express so much more than those of others... Look at me being more than emotional; I am like carried away right now." Once tuned into a show: nice sound and the guitarist just plying a great solo. Everyone seems to be having a fun time. Then what? You get to see her self-absorbed face and, of course, she tops everything that's gone before. Anyone ever counted how many times her face appears on the cd "Whe nI look in your eyes" (I mean the case plus the cd)? It's something like 9/10. - The music should always rank first IMO. With her, the opposite seem true. (never got around to listen to her music; her face/whole expression always put me off.)

 

[TwoFiveOne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsaliga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Blossom Dearie.

X2. Good call! Sooo overlooked these days. I've had a lifelong crush on her -truly special. Her "The Diva Series" release is an excellent intro.

 

[Uncle Erik]

No Eartha Kitt? Rowr.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoFiveOne /img/forum/go_quote.gif X2. Good call! Sooo overlooked these days.

Agreed.

And there are also many great contemporary female jazz vocalists. I just don't see how Cassandra Wilson gets on a list of jazz singers. She has a wonderful voice and occasionally shows that she has the vocal chops for jazz singing, but her career has been one big musical identity crisis with a conflicting mish mash of styles. Moreover, the arrangements she sings to often do not compliment her vocal style. To me she seems to want to do it all: world music, pop, blues. Everything, all on the same album and sometimes all on the same song. For me it makes for very disjointed listening.

If you want contemporary female jazz singers who actually spend their time singing jazz, then Dena DeRose, Stacey Kent, Ann Hampton Calloway, Jackie Ryan, Tierney Sutton, Madeleine Peyroux, and Patricia Barber are much better choices.

--Jerome

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

For contemporary female jazz singers one of my favourites is Roberta Gambarini. Great great singer

Rgrds

 

[tru blu]

Try Paula West.

YouTube - Paula West on Fog Town Network--with Ken Muir

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo /img/forum/go_quote.gif For contemporary female jazz singers one of my favourites is Roberta Gambarini. Great great singer Rgrds

Thanks for the tip. I ordered You Are There and Easy to Love today. She has a striking voice and reminds me a lot of Ella Fitzgerald. She can scat well too, perhaps not like Ella but no one else could either. Still, very nice.

--Jerome

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try Paula West

She's on my Amazon.com wishlist. Thanks.

There is another name that I am a bit surprised hasn't come up in this thread: Shirley Horn. She was superb on the piano and a damn fine jazz singer.

--Jerome