Billie or Ella? Maria or Renata? Technique or feeling?

chowkwan -- Truly.. And far be it for me to denigrate the situation with cliche, yeah,  life imitates opera.

Technical proficiency is only another tool that may or may not assist the artist in achieving the ultimate goal: cause one to feel something.

To reduce an artist to a polarized representation of some manufactured binary makes no sense.  If Ella doesn’t make you feel anything, then, there ya go. Problem solved. Is this because she has “too much technical proficiency?”  Either way, it doesn’t matter, because she doesn’t move you. If Mariah Carey moves you just as much as Patti Smith, well, there ya go. Either way, any such judgment on the singers’ technical proficiency is irrelevant.
Feeling is the point.

@edcyn. Now we're remembering Callas, she was an audiophile. At the end of her life, she spent her days listening to her old recordings on reel tape. Prolly master copies. There is a photo of her in her apartment with her tape machine but even the all knowing internet couldn't find it. I'm guessing Revox A77 which was the go to machine in those far off days.

And a Furtwangler fan! See John Hunt's bio of Maria Callas. He was driving her and Beethoven came on the radio. Arriving at their destination, Callas insisted on staying in the car wanting to know the name of the conductor. Upon finding out she poured scorn. Ha! That's what passes for conducting today. We had Furtwangler.

@tylermunns To reduce an artist to a polarized representation of some manufactured binary makes no sense.

One man's reduction is another man's observation. e.g. Steve Vai shredder extraordinaire, but to what end? Technique per se is OK viz John McLaughlin who is shreddier than Steve but there is a musical point to all those rapid fire notes.

I got nuttin' agin' Steve you understand owning two of his signature guitars. Luv the monkey grip.

Steve Vai Zappa band. McLaughlin Miles Davis band. I rest my case.

@chowkwan 

"I stand back to no one in my admiration for Ella Fitzgerald's technique but all the vocal fireworks make for precious little emotion. Billie Holiday on the other hand makes you feel she's singing just for you."

You do realize that you're describing your subjective experience here as though it were objective, right?  

The issue of whether or not an artist communicates emotion is complicated by the fact that the listener is an integral part of the experience. What the listener perceives is deeply conditioned by all sorts of subjective factors. 

I've played CDs that I find very emotive for friends, only to witness them sitting  impassively. Clearly they've had a very different response. I don't believe this disparity can be explained simply by analyzing how technically proficient the artist in question may or may not be. 

I'm guessing there are many fans of guitar shredders who'll assert they experience intense emotion from listening to their idols' gymnastics. For me, it's about as gripping as watching someone lift weights but they'd probably find Otis Rush or Roy Buchanan boring. 

One guy who started out as a shredder and evolved into (as I hear him) a highly emotive player is Ritchie Kotzen. His Live in Japan YouTube video is a great example. 

Great topic, BTW.