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

tylermunns, that is a terribly narrow definition of what a Jazz singer is; and one that I could not disagree with more.  Of the singers you mention, I may grant you Sinatra……maybe.  However, Ellla, Vaughn not Jazz singers?!  Ella Fitzgerald, with the possible exception of Eddie Henderson and today’s Kurt Elling was possibly the greatest vocal improviser ever.  There have been very few vocalists who have had the vocal technique and, more importantly, the command of harmony and the general vocabulary of improvised Jazz to be able to scat in a way competitive with good instrumental Jazz improvisers.  Surely, that alone puts her in the Jazz category.  Of course, all this in her generational style which was rooted in Swing and, as you say, American Songbook standards.  Btw, the vast majority of Jazz instrumentalist also used, and still use, the Great American Songbook as the primary source of their material.  So…..

Abbey Lincoln was fabulous no doubt.  Being a civil rights activist her later material reflects this.  Her “protest songs” during the time that she was married to Roach were a reflection of the social climate of the time; just as was some of the instrumental Jazz of that time.  However, her earlier recordings were centered on the American Songbook.  Does this mean she wasn’t a Jazz singer then?  

Maybe I’ve used poor terminology. to describe what I’m looking for in Ella Fitgerald recordings. I’d prefer to avoid the Gershwin or Cole Porter Great American songbook type material is all. For instance, I’ve most all of Miles Davis records through 1977, but rarely play his Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain or Quiet Nights recordings. For whatever reason, valid or not, I find that kind of material annoying and that’s what I’d like to avoid. Maybe her Duke Ellington Songbook album would be okay.

So if any of you could recommend any Ella albums like I’m poorly trying to describe, I’d appreciate your recommendations. Thanks.

Mike

skyscraper-If  you just want to hear Ella in one of her best settings  that's only with piano or simple Jazz ensemble. Check out here Decca and early Verve output for some of her finest. The songbook/orchestra settings is what most people remember her for. 

Thanks tablejockey. I'll check the Decca and early Verve material out. That sounds like what I'd be looking for.

Good recommendations by tablejockey.

It’s interesting that the distinction is being made re “song book” material as concerns both Ella and Billie. The fact is that most of the material recorded by Billie is in fact, and like Ella’s…….also part of the Great American Songbook.

Two different singers with two different styles. Jazz is, stylistically, a lot of different things depending on the particular artist. In fact, individuality of style is one of the. key ingredients of Jazz. Ella’s was not as gritty and pained as was Billie’s. Does that make her less of a Jazz singer? I don’t think so. It’s also interesting that singers seem to be accorded less stylistic latitude than instrumentalists. Was Lester Young less of a Jazz player than Coltrane? After all, he had a beautifully light and smooth tone with perfect intonation (sound familiar?). Coltrane, on the other hand, had tons of grit and angst in his playing and tended to play a little sharp.