YOUR Top three all-time jazz vocalists

[tranemonk]

okay I'm sure this has been brought up before... but I feel like it anyway....

So what are your three all-time fave female vocalists in order of preference? For Moi...

1) Billie H.

2) Anita O'Day (close second)

3) Tie - Karrin Allyson & Cassandra Wilson...

Sorry but no matter how hard I try I can't just dig Sarah Vaughn or Ella... (I like them both but not in the top three...)

Okay humor me..

[paul secor]

Louis

early Billie

late Billie

[Pete C]

I can't do 3, but I can do 5, and Ella & Sarah don't make the cut for me either.

Billie

Dinah

Carmen

Anita

Jeanne Lee

I don't care much for Karrin Allyson. Too "clean" a sound for my taste.

[Shawn]

1. Anita O'Day

2. Billie Holiday (late period)

3. Helen Merrill

[Hardbopjazz]

Betty Carter

Sarah Vaughn

Billie Holliday

[Jim R]

female:

Sarah Vaughan

Carmen McRae

Dinah Washington

male:

Johnny Hartman

Jon Hendricks

Chet Baker

[AfricaBrass]

My top two are Billie Holiday and Anita O'Day. While I like other female vocalists, there's a pretty wide gap between them and my possible third choice. So I'll just list my top two.

[Dave James]

Billie Holiday

Anita O'Day

Johnny Hartman

[tranemonk]

Damn I knew I forgot someone... Gotta put Betty into the third place tie, perhaps along with Shirley Horn...

Betty Carter

Sarah Vaughn

Billie Holliday

[golfcrazy1984]

Sarah Vaughan

Ella Fitzgerald

Louis Armstrong

So that's if I were to only pick 3, and they are my favorites, and those who I like to listen to.

Historically, Billie Holiday needs to be on the list.

Anita O'Day needs to be on the list. And maybe Joe Williams.

Love Frank Sinatra too, but wouldn't consider him a true Jazz singer.

[Quincy]

I'm treating this as favorites I'm most likely to listen to now rather than some kind of hall of fame. If that's not what you want I'll delete it.

Jack Teagarden

Billie Holiday

Mildred Bailey

I don't know if there's much difference in my mind for 3 through 7 or so, so on another day (or hour) Anita makes the list easily. As could Louis.

[golfcrazy1984]

Jack Teagarden is great too!

Didn't even think of him 'till I read your post Quincy!

Edited March 1, 2012 by Jazz Nut

[spangalang]

1. Billie Holiday

2. Sarah Vaughan

3. Nina Simone

[.:.impossible]

I love Sarah Vaughn. Surprised so many have already mentioned her as an unfavorite.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sarahvaughanlondonhouse.jpg

[Pete C]

Jack Teagarden

I can tell this now that she's gone--the great singer Barbara Lea claimed she alienated Jonathan Schwartz when she said she'd much rather listen to Teagarden singing than Sinatra.

[jeffcrom]

Here's where I really seem like a moldy fig. Most folks here know that I love New Orleans music and traditional jazz, but I love bebop and avant-garde music just as much. Yes, I like Helen Merrill, Sarah Vaughan, and Sheila Jordan, but I'd say that my top three are two who have been named and one unusual choice:

Louis

Billie

Jelly Roll Morton.

Anyone who has spent any time with the Library of Congress recordings knows what an amazing singer Jelly was.

If I could name one more, it would probably be Danny Barker.

And all of this is based on calling Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Sippie Wallace blues singers rather than jazz singers - a pointless distinction I'll observe for purposes of this thread.

[.:.impossible]

I guess three female vocalists that I listen to the most would be Sarah Vaughn, Sheila Jordan, Billie Holiday.

[thedwork]

dinah washington

joe williams

jon hendricks

[Neal Pomea]

Louis

Billie

Jelly Roll Morton.

I was going to post the same list! I thought Fats Waller was also great! And Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, Clara Smith, and a bunch they call blues ladies.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Neal Pomea

[BeBop]

I'm not a vocal guy. I'm hard-pressed to list three vocalists I can tolerate, much less enjoy*. That said, I do like Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure and Jimmy Rushing. I'd call them all horn-like.

* No acounting for taste, eh?

Edited March 2, 2012 by BeBop

[John Tapscott]

Anita O'Day

June Christy

Ella Fitzgerald

[colinmce]

1. June Christy

2. Mel Torme

3. Billie

That #2 is a red herring. I love Torme, but generally dislike male jazz vocalists. Heretic as is may seem Rushing, Joe Williams, Jon Hendricks, Johnny Hartman, Leon Thomas, whoever...they drive me nuts. Though I do like Chet, and certainly Teagarden and Louis.

3 is tough, though. I love Rene Marie, Chris Connor, Helen Forrest, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Betty Carter.

[Afric Pepperbird]

Maggie Nicols

Norma Winstone

Jeanne Lee

[jazzbo]

Male

Pops

Jackson

Fats

Female

Billie

Peggy

Helen

Edited March 2, 2012 by jazzbo

[sonnymax]

Billie Holiday

Louis Armstrong

Betty Carter

I don't usually care much for poll threads, but this would have been a good one.