Jazz-classics (vocal jazz)

[jeronimos]

I'm currently studying jazz, and in school we have the nice convenience to play in a combo every week.

As we have a singer in the combo, i'm currently dealing with a lack off knowledge on vocal jazz.

k, there are the usuals like beautifull love, all the tings etc...

But i'm curious to explore new melodies, and new singers. My teacher already gave me a headstart with the title"witchcraft".

Cy coleman has a marvelous version of it.

Any help for me on this matter???

i would really appreciate it. I'm kinda new on jazz(i've only come in contact with it the last 2 years). To little, and actually a shame. But trying to learn

tnx in advance

[Free For All]

One way to approach this that I would suggest is to go to the site jazzstandards.com and click on "songs". There will be a list of many jazz standards- choose the "rank" option which puts them in a order of general popularity. Click on a tune (like Body and Soul, the first one on the list) and you'll see some suggested recordings and a history of the tune. That should lead you to some recordings- also, most of the tunes listed can be found in jazz fakebooks.

You can also go to iTunes, emusic or Amazon and hear samples of specific singers. Ella, Billie, Carmen McCrae, Sarah Vaughan, Helen Merrill, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson, Betty Carter, Blossom Dearie...just a few suggestions to start with. More contemporary singers will have been influenced by many of these.

Have fun!

[JSngry]

My teacher already gave me a headstart with the title"witchcraft".

Cy coleman has a marvelous version of it.

Cy Coleman wrote it! Great song indeed!

The "definitive" vocal version is Sinatra's, but Donald Byrd did a very nice instrumental take as well.

[clifford_thornton]

Find the singers who most fit with the instrumental sounds/approaches you like. The vocalists who, for me, have made the most impact are those who treat their voice as a conduit for deep personal feelings and not just singing the lyrics pat.

Some whom I like in particular: Patty Waters, Sheila Jordan, Annie Ross. YMMV.

[jlhoots]

Jeanne Lee

[clifford_thornton]

Oh yes! How could I space on her?

Lee is a very diverse singer - able to sing or recite lines "straight" yet with an ineffable sense of depth. And her production of free, non-lyric sounds is unparalleled. I particularly like her work with Gunter Hampel.

Still, my desert island vocal disc would be Patty Waters' You Thrill Me (Water).

[Chuck Nessa]

Looks like Clifford is gonna be alone on that island for a while.

[Larry Kart]

Lee Wiley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX5f8U79Btc...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv9oDdQQoxc...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TouM4yed-xE...feature=related

[MartyJazz]

One of my very favorite vocal recordings: Jo Stafford - JO + JAZZ (Corinthian). Wonderful arrangements, singing plus Ben Webster!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Chris Connor is a singer who always found several unusual songs - great songs you'd never heard before - to include in her albums.

MG

[Niko]

in that far away period of my live we played, besides all the things you are, for instance when sunny gets blue, mas que nada, georgia on my mind, nick drake's river man and lullaby of birdland

(not particulary inspired choices (so maybe not what you're looking for) but we had a good time... just looked it up - our brilliant singer from those days is finally singing these things with "name people" locally, definitely a bit proud)